My Childhood Friend, Who I Made a Promise To Spend the Future With, Dumped Me... But Ever Since I Started Dating a Beautiful Girl From School, My Childhood Friend Has Been Acting Strange - Episode 26

Nothing had been resolved yet.

Someone was trying to use an avatar that resembled Suzuha’s former virtual live-streamer persona and intended to start activities without permission.

However, their identity remained unknown.

Tōma Suzuki knew he had to prevent an unknown person from misusing it at all costs.

Letting out a silent sigh, he pondered the unresolved situation.

The next day, in the classroom.

Tōma sat at his desk, staring at his smartphone screen.

The second period had just ended, and the classroom was filled with the lively chatter of his classmates.

He was a bit sleepy from the lessons, but as a way to refresh himself, he casually opened his social media.

Yesterday, Suzuha had used Tōma’s account to send a direct message to the suspicious account, but there had been no reply.

Sliding his finger from top to bottom, he scrolled through the timeline.

There was nothing unusual—no noticeable changes regarding the mysterious account.

He still couldn’t figure out why someone had created the account, but there were bound to be many people online who misunderstood the situation.

He hoped the situation wouldn’t spread unnecessarily, but the account’s follower count was steadily increasing.

At this rate, within two weeks, the number of followers would likely surge even more.

What a hassle…

But at the same time, the silence is unsettling.

After finishing checking his timeline, Tōma opened the suspicious account once more.

Huh?

A strange feeling crept over him.

Did this kind of post exist before?

A post he had never seen before had appeared on the account.

“Tomorrow, I will reveal my identity on a video streaming site.”

—Wait, does that mean they’re starting their activities tomorrow?

Tōma sat up straight, suddenly alert.

Even though he was still slightly drowsy from the morning classes, he rubbed his eyes and focused on rereading the post carefully.

At the moment, the avatar’s image was still hidden behind a black silhouette on social media.

But according to the post, their identity would be revealed during tomorrow’s live stream.

This meant the situation could change drastically by tomorrow.

I should tell Suzuha about this during lunch break.

Huh?

Before he realized it, the teacher for the third period had already stepped up to the podium, preparing for the lesson.

This teacher was known for being so quiet and unnoticeable that most of the students in the classroom hadn’t even realized their presence yet.

Although it was still break time and talking was not an issue, Tōma turned off his phone and tucked it into his school bag.

If it rang during class, there was a chance the teacher would confiscate it.

Despite their usual mild demeanor, there were rumors that this teacher could be terrifying when angry.

Tōma then started preparing for the next lesson.

“Suzuha, take a look at this.”

“What is it?”

Lunchtime.

As soon as the morning classes ended, Tōma pulled Suzuha Kamiya up to the rooftop, where they sat together on a bench.

“This post—whoever is using this account is planning to start live-streaming as a virtual live-streamer.”

He showed her the post from the mysterious account.

“Seriously? They’re going all in?”
“That’s how it looks.”
“…So the avatar’s true identity will be revealed during the live stream?”
“Based on this post, yeah.”
“But if it’s not me using the avatar, then who’s doing the voice?”
“Good point. If they’re live-streaming, they need a voice.”
“Exactly.”
“Then… how are they handling that?”
“No idea. We’ll have to check during the stream.”

As they discussed, they kept looking over the post.

“We should also find their streaming account.”

Tōma clicked on the URL displayed on the social media profile, switching to the video streaming site.

Since he was already registered on the platform, he easily accessed the live-streaming account.

“Tōma, look—there’s a scheduled stream for tomorrow at 8:30 PM.”

Suzuhara pointed at his screen.

Beneath the thumbnail image for the live stream, the scheduled start time was clearly displayed.

“Tōma, want to watch it together tomorrow?”
“Together? I don’t mind, but… the stream might go late into the night. We might have to stay over at someone’s place. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine. This is important, and I want to share the information with you. We could watch at my place or yours.”
“Speaking of which… does your house have a good internet connection?”

He recalled visiting Suzuha’s house the day before, where she had used the internet. But he wanted to confirm.

“Well, we do have internet… but it’s a weak connection. Sometimes it cuts out. There was an issue online before, so my mom only allowed a slow connection to keep me safe.”
“I see. Then my place would be better. We won’t have any connection issues there. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, your house sounds like a better option. Let’s do that.”

Suzuha readily agreed, finalizing their plan for tomorrow.

“In that case, should I bring anything? If I’m staying over at your house, should I bring pajamas? I haven’t had a sleepover since elementary school, so I’m kind of excited!”

Sitting beside him, Suzuha smiled brightly, her voice filled with excitement.

“It might turn into a sleepover, yeah. But I can prepare pajamas for you.”
“Really? Then I’ll leave it to you!”
“Well, let’s discuss the details later.”
“Yeah!”

Since Tōma had rushed Suzuha to the rooftop immediately after class, neither of them had prepared for lunch.

By now, his stomach was growling, and they still had afternoon classes to attend.

“We should get lunch. Did you bring a bento today?”
“Nope, I didn’t bring anything. Want to go to the cafeteria together? I was planning to buy something there.”

Suzuha usually avoided spending money on school food to save money, but today, she wanted to eat something together with Tōma. So she had deliberately skipped bringing a bento.

“I see. Then let’s go buy something together.”

Standing up from the bench, the two headed toward the school cafeteria on the first floor.