chapter05 · 122-ep122

Book Volume 2 Newly Written Content Preview: Mafuyu and Karin's First Contact (Part Two)

That day, Mafuyu was a little late going home despite not belonging to any clubs.

She had business in the faculty room related to the various details of her recent transfer, and while there, an older head teacher who was having trouble because their pet camera had suddenly stopped connecting spoke to her.

"I don't understand connections and all that. You're young—can you tell what's wrong?"

Mafuyu thought checking on one's pet at home from a phone inside the faculty room was rather questionable, but the teacher had probably spoken to her partly out of concern for a newly transferred student.

Regardless, the various subjects Public Security had drilled into Mafuyu included more than enough knowledge to handle a minor technical problem like that. After checking the pet camera and phone models, she identified the cause and dealt with it. The older head teacher was delighted, and her homeroom teacher, who had been watching, let out an impressed sound before opening his mouth as though something had suddenly occurred to him.

"You're amazing, Sasaki. ...Come to think of it, my kid recently started streaming? Or something like that, and apparently their equipment hasn't been working right. Could you tell what's causing it? I looked online, but there was so much information I couldn't make heads or tails of it. The model is—"

"Oh, in that case—"

Somehow, one thing led to another and she wound up fielding questions about communications equipment, but Mafuyu answered them carefully. Fortunately, they were problems she could resolve with verbal advice alone, so it did not take much effort. Besides, there was no downside to maintaining a good relationship with her teachers.

(...And even if it takes a little time, I don't have anything I need or want to do.)

An empty feeling, like a gaping hole in her chest. Muttering in the after-school hallway as though mocking herself for how the sensation still hadn't vanished despite some time passing in her new environment, Mafuyu returned to the classroom.

The matter had kept her a little later than expected, and she was quickly preparing to leave in the now-empty room when it happened.

"Um, you are Mafuyu Sasaki-sama, correct?"

"Eh?"

Rattle.

The classroom door opened, and an unexpected person addressed Mafuyu.

Karin Yamada.

Someone Mafuyu had assumed would have gone home long ago, as usual. More than that, the rare creature who had never approached her before.

Her sudden contact caught Mafuyu slightly off guard.

And while Mafuyu wondered what she could possibly want with no one else around, Karin spoke with no preamble whatsoever.

"The truth is, I intend to make my dungeon-streamer debut this summer break, desu no! I shall become an ojou-sama streamer who entertains everyone through Elegant dungeon conquests, desu no yo!"

Her eyes abruptly began sparkling as she made that declaration.

(Hah?) Mafuyu stared wide-eyed yet again. "I-I said it, desu wa!" Karin continued, fidgeting for some reason.

"But the truth is, um, I am not good with machinery... So I apologize for asking this out of nowhere, but... if you are willing, could you please help me choose my dungeon-streaming equipment and complete the initial setup?"

"Eh?"

The proposal was so abrupt that Mafuyu was bewildered.

After hearing more, she learned Karin had fervently dreamed for some time of becoming a dungeon streamer. It was a dangerous but popular video genre that broadcast one's dungeon conquests.

And apparently, this problem child had been summoned to the faculty room by a guidance counselor—as usual—and had seen and heard Mafuyu instantly resolving the communications-equipment problem earlier. Karin had seemingly been made to write a letter of reflection or something, and she'd been so completely quiet for once that Mafuyu had never noticed her.

(Damn it... That was careless of me.)

Mafuyu reflected on how she had never imagined something like that would make Karin approach her, then promptly answered the request.

"No. I just don't want to. Do that much yourself."

"Eh!?"

Karin's eyes became perfectly round, and she cried out as though genuinely shocked.

Why are you acting like you never imagined I could say no? Mafuyu thought before giving her further reasons for the refusal.

"Choosing equipment and handling the initial setup isn't a matter of giving you a little advice. I don't owe you enough to accept a request that sounds like that much trouble, and I'm not free."

That was a lie.

She had absolutely nothing to do.

She belonged to no club. Having only just transferred, her relationships with her classmates were limited. She had no plans to go out with anyone, and her schedule was completely empty.

But at the time... Mafuyu must have been more bitter than even she realized.

She'd already felt a little uncomfortable around noisy Karin. More than anything, Karin's sparkling eyes—so full of dreams about dungeon streaming, and by extension, dungeons and dungeon society—rubbed her the wrong way and made her want to be a little mean.

So Mafuyu had delivered her refusal a little harshly, with enough force to make the vast majority of people flinch and retreat.

But the next instant—

"P-please, I beg of you, desu wa!"

"!?"

Mafuyu recoiled when Karin suddenly crowded closer.

"No matter how hard I try to research machinery and connections and streaming settings, I do not understand them! And, um, it may seem strange for an ojou-sama, but I have no money either... I cannot afford to make a mistake with the equipment, desu no!"

"Hold on, you can say that, but... I'm not actually that knowledgeable myse—"

"That is a lie, desu no! You seemed tremendously knowledgeable in the faculty room! And even if you know nothing right now, I can see you are clever enough to understand such things immediately, desu wa!"

Mafuyu grimaced at Karin's surprisingly keen observation. (What a pain.)

"If it is anything within my ability, I shall repay this favor however you ask! So please, I beg you to allow yourself to be asked! I have no one else to turn to, desu no!"

Finally, Karin clung to Mafuyu's leg and desperately persisted, without a shred of concern for appearances.

Are you a child!?

"...Sigh. How can you be so desperate about this?"

Having regained her calm, Mafuyu muttered in exasperation as Karin continued begging with all her strength.

Dungeon streaming was certainly a popular and glamorous video genre.

But that very popularity made the competition fierce, and conquering dungeons while remaining conscious of both the camera and one's viewers was dangerous work with no shortage of accidents. People risked their lives on streams only for the footage to be buried beneath the countless videos uploaded every day as a matter of course. In contrast to its public popularity, it offered no dreams or hope at all.

And yet—

"Nnngh, please, desu nooo. It is my dream, desu nooo."

Whether she understood that reality or not... No, she probably did to some degree. Yet Karin's eyes still brimmed with unwavering passion.

Perhaps it was because Mafuyu was forced to watch Karin's persistence from close range for so long.

The words spilled from Mafuyu's mouth entirely unconsciously.

"...I'm jealous. You have something you want to pursue with all your heart."

"...? Jealous, desu no?"

"Ah...!"

Karin tilted her head, and her voice snapped Mafuyu back to herself.

(Damn it. How could I... This rare animal threw such a ridiculous tantrum that I let it slip...!)

Mafuyu ground her teeth at a blunder she could never have imagined making while still active.

Had the peaceful environment made not only her combat strength but her mind rusty as well? And this quickly?

While Mafuyu despaired over her own deterioration... Karin stared fixedly at her.

"? What?"

"I see. I understand now, desu wa."

After gazing up at Mafuyu's suspicious expression, Karin nodded as if something had clicked and clenched a fist.

"Then first, let us search for something Mafuyu-sama wishes to do! I shall help you, desu wa! And if we can find something, please help me make my dungeon-streamer debut!"

"...? Hah?"

"Is that not only fair? Just as you said, making such a request without offering anything in return would be most un-Elegant. Summer vacation is about to begin, so the timing is perfect and we shall have plenty of time! If we visit all kinds of places together, we are certain to find something that interests you, Mafuyu-sama!"

Why the hell is THAT your conclusion?

More importantly, spending summer break with someone this noisy had to be a joke.

Karin had taken a flying leap in logic all on her own and now begun meddling in Mafuyu's life, making Mafuyu frown.

"No. I don't know what you've misunderstood, but I don't need any of that. In fact, if you're going to go to all that trouble, it'd be easier for me to hurry up and finish the initial preparations for your streaming debut. That's good enough, right?"

"But... when you said moments ago that you truly envied me for having something I wished to pursue with all my heart... You meant that, did you not?"

"..."

Karin stared straight into Mafuyu's eyes as she spoke, and Mafuyu found herself at a loss for words.

She only needed to deny it immediately, yet for some reason, she couldn't. Her expression turned bitter and she involuntarily looked away from Karin.

Perhaps interpreting Mafuyu's reaction somehow, Karin began to fluster.

"Ah, o-of course, um, I shall not force you if you truly dislike the idea, Mafuyu-sama! But, um, I really would prefer your help if possible, and having you grant only my request while I ignore the worries troubling you would not be Elegant, or rather..."

The noise she'd made moments ago became hard to believe as Karin's shoulders drooped, and she took on a lonely expression like a dog abandoned in the rain.

"..."

That was not to say Mafuyu was won over. Absolutely not.

The Mafuyu of the past would have prioritized reason and cast the matter aside regardless of what happened. She could still claim Karin had misheard her words at any moment. She could even return to the faculty room right now and tell a teacher, "Yamada is causing trouble again."

And yet... why?

Something about this reckless girl who was Mafuyu's complete opposite made her feel that Karin truly might find something Mafuyu could want to do.

There was no basis for it whatsoever.

And yet, for some reason, she felt that way.

Therefore—

"...Sigh. Fine."

"Eh?"

"I'll search for something I want to do, so you'd better take it seriously and stick with me."

"...! Y-yaaay, desu wa! Of course, desu no!"

And so—

This encounter and Karin's desperate steamrolling became the impetus for the two complete opposites, whose summer break began that weekend, to travel together to all sorts of places in search of something Mafuyu wanted to do.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Karin ojou-sama, are you sure your exam studies will be all right, desu no...?

And there you have the latest preview of the newly written content in Ojou-sama Buzz volume two, releasing March 18, desu wa! The preview's two parts totaled roughly eight thousand Japanese characters, but the book includes the full thirty-thousand-character story, so I hope you'll look forward to it.

(Incidentally, the title of the new story has ruby text in the book, desu no.)

If you found this entertaining, I would be delighted if you supported it with stars and follows. That will help Ojou-sama go even more viral in real life and support the books as well, desu wa.