The male-to-female ratio in FPS games is roughly 8:2. It’s no wonder Haruto was surprised.
The number of female players in this genre is overwhelmingly low.
“Have you heard of ABEX, Haruto-san? It’s a really famous game.” (Aya)
“?! If you’re talking about ABEX, I play it too!” (Haruto)
“Eh!? Haruto-san plays it too!?” (Aya)
Not wanting to delve into the topic of video editing, Haruto forcefully changed the subject, which somehow led to the unexpected discovery of a common interest.
However, the conversation was still in the “dangerous” zone.
Invitations like “Let’s play together next time” are something to be wary of.
Haruto is a game streamer. His ABEX username is the notorious “Oni_chan,” and he holds the top rank, Predator, which only the top 750 people can achieve.
It is crucial to avoid revealing his main account at all costs.
If he had to mention his account, it could only be in the form of a sub-account.
“By the way, what’s your rank, Haruto-san? Maybe you’re actually quite high-ranked…?” (Aya)
“No, no! I just reached Platinum1, so I’m in the middle.” (Haruto)
“I’m in Platinum too!” (Aya)
“W-Wow, what a coincidence…” (Haruto)
To maintain fairness in ABEX, even if you are friends, if there is a significant difference in rank, you cannot play ranked matches together. However, in casual matches where the outcome of a match doesn’t affect your rank, it’s a different story.
“Well then, we should totally play together next time, right!?” (Aya)
“Ahaha, yeah, of course.” (Haruto)
At that moment, Haruto felt grateful for having a sub-account. He was surprised that she played such competitive games, but considering her personality, she probably enjoyed the liveliness of them.
While imagining such things, they continue talking about ABEX for several tens of minutes.
“Uwah~ We’re here already…” (Aya)
Aya’s cheerful tone suddenly shifted and a disappointed voice filled the air.
In front of them was a familiar crossroad. This was the usual intersection at which they parted ways.
“Time sure flies when you’re having fun, huh? I wonder if there’s a way to make it last.” (Aya)
“It makes me happy to hear you say that. I was thinking the same thing.” (Haruto)
“You’re actually much happier than you make it out to be, right? That’s quite the act~2” (Aya)
While jokingly conveying this with a slight twitch of her thin eyebrows, there was a sly grin on her face. It seemed like she understood my true feelings behind the words.
“…” (Haruto)
“Pfft, hehe.” (Aya)
While staring in silence and thinking about what to say, she covered her mouth and burst into laughter.
“Hey~ it’s okay if you just lie to me, you know? Like, you can just say, ‘That’s not true!'” (Aya)
“You probably already know how I feel even if I said that.” (Haruto)
“Hmm. Well then, next time, I’ll act like I don’t know.” (Aya)
“Knowing you, it’ll probably show on your face anyways.” (Haruto)
“When that happens, I’ll rely on Haruto-san to stop me.” (Aya)
“What’s up with that?” (Haruto)
Her response was typical of her, and it seemed she was self-aware that she was quite expressive.
“Well, it’s getting late, so let’s call it a day. I live alone, so it’s fine for me, but Haruto-san might not be the same.” (Aya)
“Thanks. I’ll go with that.” (Haruto)
“It’s dark outside, so be careful on your way home, Haruto-san.” (Aya)
“You too, Shirayuki-san.” (Haruto)
“Yeah! Well, let’s play ABEX next time, okay? Promise?” (Aya)
“Of course. See you then.” (Haruto)
“See you! Bye-bye!” (Aya)
He waved as he watched her leave. When her back disappeared around the corner, Haruto took out his phone from his pocket and immediately made a call.
After two rings, the other person picked up.
“(Hello, Yuu3? How’s everything today?)” (Haruto)
“(Yeah, everything’s fine. What’s up, onii-chan?)” (Yuno)
“(Oh, nothing. Just letting you know I’m on my way home, should be reaching back quite soon.)” (Haruto)
“(Hmm? You can just send a message instead of calling, you know?)” (Yuno)
“(Well, well. I just feel more at ease with a call.)” (Haruto)
Since they were just a family of two, constantly keeping in touch, and consulting with each other had become somewhat of a family rule.
“(Well, that’s true… Oh, also, thanks for your hard work at work today.)” (Yuno)
“(Haha, thanks, Yuu. How was school today? You didn’t run into any problems, right? Are you okay?)” (Haruto)
“(Haa… Onii-chan, you worry too much. It’s the same as usual.)” (Yuno)
“(Got it. As long as you’re okay.)” (Haruto)
Even though he knew he was being overprotective, he continued to ask these questions every day.
Yuno was a second-year high school student who had lost both parents. This makes her family situation vastly different from those around her. Despite it being a sensitive topic, it is commonplace to talk about family in school. This was from Haruto’s own experience.
“(Ah, onii-chan. There’s something I wanted to ask while we’re at it.)” (Yuno)
“(Hmm?)” (Haruto)
“(I’m thinking of inviting Suzuha-chan over to our place next Sunday… Do you have any streams scheduled for that day…?)” (Yuno)
“(Oh! Suzuha-chan is coming over? I don’t have any streams planned, so feel free to invite her over. By the way, have you decided on a time?)” (Haruto)
“(For now, we’re planning to hang out from 1 PM to 5 PM.)” (Yuno)
“(Got it. I’ll make sure not to stream on that day. I can’t let her hear that, after all…)” (Haruto)
While Haruto streams from his gaming room, the room itself is not soundproofed.
—The small fry is here~!
—Alright, thanks for the goods~!
—Please come again~!
To avoid having such voices heard by others, Haruto had decided to never stream when there were guests.
If someone were to hear them, even if they were work-related… it’d probably be weird.
—Yuno-chan’s onii-chan is a dangerous person.
To prevent such rumors from spreading, he had to be extra vigilant.
“(Well, no matter what onii-chan is doing, I think Suzuha-chan will understand, given the circumstances.)” (Yuno)
“(Well, I feel that way too, but it’s always good to be cautious. If I end up being disliked, that’s fine, but if it might affect Yuu…)” (Haruto)
“(If it comes to that, we’ll deal with it when it happens. We can handle it together, just like always.)” (Yuno)
“(Yeah, you’re right.)” (Haruto)
Perhaps due to living without her parents, Yuno had truly become strong. Haruto felt a sense of joy from her growth, and he let out a happy laugh.
“(Anyways, come back quickly, onii-chan. I’m making Oyakodon4 today.)” (Yuno)
“(What, oyakodon!? Seriously!? I’m coming!)” (Haruto)
“(I’m happy that you’re looking forward to it but be careful. If something were to happen to onii-chan…)” (Yuno)
“(I-I know, of course.)” (Haruto)
“(Alright then. I’ll warm it up so we can eat as soon as you’re back.)” (Yuno)
“(Thanks. See you at home.)” (Haruto)
“(Okay.)” (Yuno)
After that conversation, he ended the call and let out a small sigh.
“Really, I need to be more careful…” (Haruto)
What came to mind were Yuno’s words from earlier.
(If something were to happen to onii-chan…)
As her brother and the only family left, he didn’t want her to evoke such thoughts. He didn’t want to say or hear such things.
“All right, safety first on the way home. If I boast about this later, maybe she’ll feel a bit more reassured… probably.” (Haruto)
He knew a retort like ‘Don’t boast about something so obvious’ was coming, but reassuring her was more important.
“Un, Un.” (Haruto)
He nodded firmly to himself, and just as he was about to power off his phone to avoid using it while walking, something caught his eye.
“Hmm?” (Haruto)
On the Twitto app’s icon, in the top right corner, the number ’99+’ was displayed.
This was undoubtedly the number of notifications, meaning there were more than 99 things sent to him.
“W-What’s this? W-What’s going on…?” (Haruto)
He had just noticed it because he usually turned off notifications while at work. His face momentarily became tense.
He hadn’t seen a number like this since the day of the streaming incident.
Although he had a bad feeling, he couldn’t just ignore it and decided to check.
“T-These notifications… Criticism messages for hitting Ayaya-san, maybe?” (Haruto)
If there was something he could think of, it would be this.
He had acted rudely against a streamer with over 300,000 subscribers. It was only natural for Ayaya’s fans to be upset, and receiving criticism wasn’t surprising.
“W-Well, as Oni-chan, it’s not a bad thing… In fact, it’s kind of nice.” (Haruto)
For a regular streamer, this might have been damaging, but the situation had changed since that streaming incident. Rumors of him being a ‘good guy’ had spread for some reason.
To continue keeping the status quo, that would be the ideal situation.
“I’m sure they’re all hate comments, but let’s check them now.” (Haruto)
He decided not to delay it, as he didn’t want to get distracted by it for too long and miss out on Yuno’s homemade oyakodon.
Bracing himself for what he was about to see, he opened Twitto and checked the notifications.
“Huh.” (Haruto)
To his surprise, there were comments he never expected.
Twitto Post: [Please collaborate with Ayaya again! It was super fun!]
This was the first message that caught his eye.
Twitto Post: [You’re seriously a good guy. I’ll support you from now on. Keep it up!]
“…Huh?” (Haruto)
This was the second message that caught his eye.
Twitto Post: [When’s your next stream? Let me send you a donation.]
“Huh…?” (Haruto)
This was the third message that caught his eye.
TL Notes:
Thanks for reading!
MC and Aya are definitely gonna get some sort of deja vu if they were to play together again lol.
FYI I never read the WN version. I know it’s translated but I wanted to surprise myself. Also I nvr read ahead, so I’m reading everything for the first time as I translate.
Footnote:
- From my research, ranks in APEX follows this order: Rookie, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, and Apex Predator.
- I think she started speaking in her dialect, which is why I have no idea what she’s talking about here. Probably scuffed up the entire conversation cause of this.
- Her sister’s name is Yuno, so this is probably just a nickname.
- Oyakodon is Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl.
Thanks for the chapter.
Thanks for the chapter!
Forget your old reputarion already, Haruto!