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 31

“Suzuha-senpai, you really are a streamer, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yeah, I guess. But could you keep it a secret?”

Kamiya Suzuha spoke gently to her junior, Sakurada Tsubaki.

“I understand. You have your reasons, after all. In that case, could you teach me some tips about being a streamer? If that’s alright with you.”

“But I don’t think I’d be of much help with that.”

Their conversation had started to revolve around Suzuki Tōma.

“Why not? You used to be active, right? Even just small things would be helpful.”

“Uh… what should I do…? I wasn’t that famous when I was active, though.”

Suzuha seemed to struggle to find the right words.

Since she didn’t feel like she had enough experience to confidently give advice, she was hesitant to respond.

“I’ll think about it later.”

“Alright, I’ll be counting on you.”

Suzuha forced a small smile to get through the moment.

“But still, I’m happy to have a VTuber close to me in real life. There are a lot online, but realistically, you don’t get many chances to interact with them in person. Suzuha-senpai, are you not planning to stream anymore?”

“At the moment, I’m not considering it.”

“I see… But personally, I wish you’d continue.”

Tsubaki had watched Suzuha’s streams in the past and wanted to see her shine once more.

“I might reconsider after resolving my current problems.”

After making a somewhat suggestive remark, Suzuha let out a small sigh, looking troubled.

“So, you’re at least considering it. If you ever make a comeback, I’d love to work with you. B-But since I haven’t even started as a VTuber yet, maybe I shouldn’t be making such a big proposal…”

Realizing she had just made a big request to an experienced streamer, Tsubaki’s voice grew smaller as she became embarrassed.

“Well, whether Suzuha streams or not is up to her, so don’t get your hopes up too much.”

“Yeah… I know I can’t force it. But still, I learned a lot from watching Suzuha-senpai’s streams. One of the reasons I decided to become a VTuber was because of you.”

Tsubaki expressed her feelings wholeheartedly.

“I see… Well, if I was able to inspire someone, then I guess my efforts weren’t in vain.”

Suzuha showed a brief moment of deep thought.

When streaming, all you can see are the comments.

Opportunities to hear direct feedback from viewers are rare.

Feeling refreshed by the experience, Suzuha smiled happily.

“Anyway, back to this weekend’s plans. We’re allowed to join the event, right?”

As Suzuha and Tsubaki had gotten caught up in their own conversation, Tōma brought the discussion back on track.

“Yes. By the way, have you contacted the company about the avatar issue, Senpai?”

“Suzuha reached out to their social media account, but it didn’t get resolved. So, we’re planning to talk to them directly.”

“I see. So that’s why you’re going to the event.”

Tsubaki nodded in understanding.

“The event is on Saturday this week. Will that work for you?”

“Saturday, huh… I think that should be fine.”

“Um, hold on a second.”

Just as Tōma started to speak, Suzuha, who was holding her phone, interrupted him.

“Hm? What is it, Suzuha?”

“Uh, Tōma, can we talk for a sec?”

They stepped aside to discuss something privately.

“I just checked my schedule, and I realized we had plans to go to the aquarium this Saturday.”

“Oh, right. The aquarium.”

“But the event is only happening this Saturday. If we miss it, we can’t participate.”

“Yeah, and Tsubaki’s ticket is for Saturday too.”

“Right. So, can we go to the aquarium another time?”

“That’s probably for the best.”

After finishing their discussion, the two came to a conclusion.

Then, Tōma turned back to Tsubaki.

“It’s nothing. Saturday works for us.”

“If it’s nothing, then that’s fine…”

Since Suzuha and Tōma had been whispering to each other, Tsubaki seemed a bit suspicious.

She looked at them with a puzzled expression.

“It’s really fine.”

“…But if we’re working together, I’d appreciate it if there were no secrets, Senpai.”

Tsubaki pressed them on the matter.

Having known Tsubaki for a long time, Tōma realized that keeping secrets from her wouldn’t work.

Even close relationships can break if you keep hiding things.

The reason they hadn’t told Tsubaki about the aquarium wasn’t because they were hiding anything shady—Tōma and Suzuha were dating.

Still, even something small, if kept secret repeatedly, could lead to distrust.

After thinking for a few seconds, Tōma glanced at Suzuha.

She gave him a nod, signaling that it was okay to tell the truth.

“Basically, Suzuha and I had made plans to go to the aquarium together on Saturday.”

“Oh, I see. But that makes sense since you two are dating. Though, I’d actually like to go to the aquarium too… But I don’t want to intrude, so I’ll pass on this one.”

Tsubaki spoke hastily, then looked away from Tōma.

It seemed she actually wanted to go with them.

But even between close friends, there are boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed.

Tōma was determined to stick with the plan of going with Suzuha alone.

For Suzuha’s sake, too.

However, he thought that after the event, they could stop by somewhere to get Tsubaki a small gift.

As a token of appreciation for helping out, it seemed like a nice gesture.

“Well, now that we’ve settled things, let’s do our best this Saturday.”

Tōma and Suzuha both nodded in agreement.

Tōma had a feeling that this Saturday was going to be an important day.

“Oh, right. We should decide on a meeting spot for Saturday. My ticketed event starts in the afternoon, so I’d like everyone to meet up by noon.”

“By the way, where is the event being held?”

Tōma asked, just to be sure.

“It’s about a 30-minute train ride from our local station. Have you ever been there before?”

Tsubaki showed him a map on her phone.

“No… I don’t think I have.”

“Then should we just meet at the local station? That would be easiest, right?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. It wouldn’t be great if we were late because of us. What do you think, Suzuha?”

“I think that’s fine too.”

The three of them continued discussing their weekend schedule while sitting side by side on a bench behind the school building, enjoying their meal.