ODL – Chapter 19 – Ya Stands For Yandere

“────Onii-chan.” (Mafuyu)

“Hmm?” (Souma)

As usual, I was waiting for Keisuke in the cafeteria when Mafuyu-chan approached me with a tray in hand.

“Mafuyu-chan, you’re having cafeteria food today as well?” (Souma)

“Yeah. I thought I’d eat together with Onii-chan.” (Mafuyu)

Since there are no other students nearby, Mafuyu-chan was in ‘just the two of us’ mode. I guess you could also call this her spoiled mode.

“Sure. Let’s eat together.” (Souma)

There didn’t seem to be any need to wait for Keisuke, so I decided to have a meal with Mafuyu-chan first.

I was waiting at a four-person table, but Mafuyu-chan didn’t sit across from me, instead she sat in the seat next to mine.

…In situations like this, shouldn’t you sit across me? Sitting next to me makes it seem like we have a certain kind of relationship.

“Onii-chan, are we having dinner with everyone today?” (Mafuyu)

“Ah, it’s probably just Shizuka today. Hiyorin needs to participate in a live stream.” (Souma)

“A live stream?” (Mafuyu)

“Yeah, something like this.” (Souma)

Although it’s bad table manners, I took out my smartphone and showed her the past archives of Zanimasu livestreams.

“Wow, it’s Hiyorin-san… She really is a voice actress.” (Mafuyu)

I don’t think she was doubting it in the first place, but seeing Hiyorin actually inside a live stream seemed to make Mafuyu-chan acknowledge her as a voice actress.

“Hiyorin is super popular, you know. Her recent photo book apparently sold out immediately.” (Souma)

By the way, I bought it too.

Hiyori isn’t particularly tall, but her legs are well-proportioned with just the right amount of fleshiness. She has an ample chest, and yet her waist is unbelievably slender. What do they call that… ‘Loli with big breasts’ doesn’t fit. Maybe ‘transistor glamour¹‘?

Couple that with her jewel-like face, it’s no wonder she’s incredibly popular.

Zanimasu mostly consists of new voice actresses, but among them, Hiyorin can definitely be considered the standout. After all, she was selected as the main character for the long-running morning anime ‘Drecure’.

By the way, Hiyorin’s photo book… there were normally bikini and lingerie shots, right?

Thinking about your neighbor in their underwear suddenly feels even more taboo. If I were to look at her now, I would probably get really excited. It feels like a completely different situation from that mess of clothes Shizuka left lying around.

…

But if I were to see the photo book, I might not be able to interact with Hiyorin normally anymore…

I’m a healthy male student so I have my fair share of sexual desires. In fact, even now, my heart rate is starting to increase a little.

For the sake of maintaining a healthy neighborly relationship, it might be better to keep Hiyorin’s photo book sealed away.

“(And so, for the next segment… ta-da! Let’s revisit the SSR scenarios! We have invited the voice actresses of the newest SSR idols to hear their thoughts on the scenarios!)” (Yasumi Hiyori)

“That’s amazing…” (Mafuyu)

Hiyorin as a commentator is quite different from her usual self.

Mafuyu-chan was bringing a B-set meal to her mouth while staring intently at my smartphone.

“She really gives off a totally different vibe.” (Mafuyu)

“Yeah, I know. When Hiyorin moved in next door, it was quite a shock. I could only think, ‘So this is what she’s like off-camera.” (Souma)

She really feels like a celebrity, doesn’t she?

Of course, Shizuka is the same way. I think the ability to create a different persona for streaming is really amazing in itself.

“Voice actors and VTubers… Onii-chan, you know some incredible people.” (Mafuyu)

“I know right? I sometimes still wonder if it’s all just a dream. After all, I am a big fan of Ette-sama and Hiyori.” (Souma)

“A big fan?” (Mafuyu)

“Yeah. Both Hiyori and Ette-sama… Oh, by the way, ‘Ette-sama’ is Shizuka’s VTuber name… Both of them are my oshis.” (Souma)

“………Fu~n, is that so?” (Mafuyu)

When Mafuyu-chan looked away from the smartphone, she returned to eating her B-set meal.

“Muu…” (Mafuyu)

She pouted looking somewhat displeased.

I wonder what happened. Maybe the B-set meal wasn’t that good.

“……” (Souma)

It was difficult to start a conversation, so we finished our lunch in silence.

“Mafuyu-chan, are you coming to eat again today?” (Souma)

Since I had already invited her last time, leaving it at that would be awkward. So, I decided to invite her over again.

She seemed to have had fun yesterday, and I naturally thought she might come again, but Mafuyu-chan’s response was unexpected.

“…Next time.” (Mafuyu)

“I see. Whenever you feel like it, come by again. You’re always welcome at our place.” (Souma)

Without responding to my words, Mafuyu-chan stood up with her tray.

She walked away briskly and disappeared.

“…Onii-chan’s eyes… I need to wake them up…” (Mafuyu)

I thought I heard her mutter something under her breath, but I couldn’t make out the words.

“Hmm…” (?)

Mafuyu-chan seemed a bit off. I wonder what happened.

“Hmmmmmm…” (?)

“Hm?” (Souma)

When I looked up, Keisuke had taken a seat across from me, his voice sounding a bit absent-minded.

“Keisuke, you’re late.” (Souma)

“I got called by the professor after class. By the way, what’s up with Minase-san?” (Keisuke)

“What do you mean?” (Souma)

As Keisuke brought the curry to his mouth, he started questioning me.

…Seriously, he eats curry every day. Doesn’t he get tired of it?

“When I passed by her earlier, she had this really intense expression. Even when I greeted her, she ignored me.” (Keisuke)

“…Seriously?” (Souma)

“Yeah, seriously. She had a deep frown on her forehead. Hey, Souma, you didn’t do something to tick her off, did you?” (Keisuke)

“No… I don’t really know.” (Souma)

If anything, it might be because I talked about Shizuka and Hiyorin… but they seemed to be on good terms yesterday.

“She might be stressed for various reasons. She mentioned it’s tough dealing with all sorts of guys approaching her.” (Souma)

“I see… cute girls have their own challenges too, huh?” (Keisuke)

────At this moment, I wished I had taken Mafuyu-chan’s sudden change more seriously

I would come to regret this decision later.

Illustration of Hiyorin’s Photo Book

“Hiyorin is super popular, you know. Her recent photo book apparently sold out immediately.”

TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

This girl is definitely planning to move in now. I think she is the less extreme kind of yandere? I mean, there is no way she’s gonna start holding a knife in a slice-of-life novel right?

Btw, I added the illustrations here. I also updated chapter 3, 6, 10, 12, and 14 with the illustrations.