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 33

“There’s a lot of stuff here, as expected from such a major event.”

Tsubaki Sakurada looked around with sparkling eyes.

She had aspirations of becoming a virtual streamer in the future.

That’s why everything she saw appeared so fascinating to her.

The event venue was already a massive building from the outside, but the interior was just as spacious.

Merchandise and costumes related to virtual streamers were being sold, and a quick glance revealed an uncountable number of attendees.

The place was lively, with many people purchasing large amounts of streamer-related goods. The atmosphere was filled with excitement.

“We’re going to follow the schedule and check out the event, right?”

“Yes, let’s stick to the plan for now.”

Suzuha Kamiya responded to Tsubaki’s question.

To use the consultation space, they needed a numbered ticket.

With virtual streamers gaining immense popularity recently, many people were eager to seek advice on how to start their own activities.

After securing a ticket, the three of them decided to explore the venue while waiting for their turn.

“Senpai, I think it’s best to just enjoy the event for now. Keeping yourself tense the whole time will only be exhausting.”

“Well, yeah, but… it doesn’t feel right to just pass the time without settling things regarding my avatar.”

“I understand how you feel, but we still have time before our turn at the consultation space. Just take it easy, Suzuha-senpai. Besides, if you act suspiciously, the event staff might start paying unnecessary attention to us.”

For a brief moment, Tsubaki’s expression turned serious as she glanced around. But she quickly returned to her usual composed demeanor.

“Suzuha-senpai, there are so many things I want to ask you about being a virtual streamer! Let’s check out that event area together!”

Before she knew it, Suzuha was being pulled away by Tsubaki.

The two of them blended into the crowd, disappearing from sight.

Tsubaki was determined to become a virtual streamer.

It was only natural that she’d be eager to learn from Suzuha, who already had experience as one.

Meanwhile, Tōma Suzuki found himself left alone in the large venue.

Guess I’ll just explore the event on my own until it’s time to meet up.

Tōma had promised his younger sister, Emi, that he’d buy her a souvenir.

If he could find a sweets section, he planned to buy some cookie-based treats for her.

As he wandered the venue, he soon spotted an area selling virtual streamer-themed sweets.

Wow, they have a lot of stuff here.

Tōma glanced at the confectionery section but didn’t recognize any of the virtual streamers featured on the packaging.

The streamers under the company Cyber Task had been active for less than a year, so it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t know them.

Even the longest-running ones had only been around for about eight months.

Which one should I buy?

As he scanned the products, he spotted some cookie-based sweets.

There were boxes of cookies shaped like chibi versions of popular streamers.

Additionally, some came with special collectible items as a bonus.

The illustrations were exclusive to this event, and hardcore collectors would likely buy them in bulk.

Tōma picked up a box and checked the price.

2,500 yen per box, huh?

It was a bit pricey, but considering it was an event-exclusive item, it might actually be a reasonable deal.

He wasn’t fond of supporting Cyber Task, a company known for using other people’s avatars without permission.

But not all of their streamers were bad people.

He figured he could at least buy two boxes as a memento.

Just as he was about to make a decision, his attention was drawn to other confectionery products, causing him to hesitate.

“Hey there! You’re having trouble deciding, aren’t you?”

A friendly voice suddenly called out to him.

When Tōma turned towards the voice, he saw a virtual streamer displayed on a nearby screen.

It seemed that the streamer had noticed him and was speaking directly to him through the monitor.

The character had a humanoid appearance resembling a cat, dressed in pink-themed clothing with a strawberry decoration on their head.

It was one of Cyber Task’s exclusive streamers, and they greeted him with a cheerful smile even through the screen.

“Uh, yeah. I’m trying to figure out what to buy.”

“I thought so! Let me help you with that.”

The streamer spoke in a casual, friendly tone, rather than the cutesy voice one might expect from a cat-like character.

“Among the products here, I’d recommend the chocolate cookies. The strawberry chocolate sauce cookies are also a great choice.”

There were so many options that Tōma hadn’t even noticed the strawberry-flavored sweets until now.

“Strawberry-flavored sweets never disappoint, so you should give them a try.”

“Huh? Try them?”

“There’s a tasting corner over there. You can sample the products before deciding which one to buy.”

“They offer samples?”

“Yes! You can try one piece of each product, so feel free to taste them first.”

“Wow, thanks for the info.”

“No problem! It’s my job to introduce the sweets. I hope you find something you like. See you!”

The screen suddenly turned black.

At first, Tōma thought it had malfunctioned, but then he noticed that the streamer had reappeared on another screen, now assisting a different customer.

Tōma ended up selecting two products.

“I’ll take these.”

“Thank you for your purchase!”

A female staff member, who wasn’t a virtual streamer, placed his items in a bag.

After paying, he received his purchase.

For his sister, he bought a strawberry chocolate sauce sweets set and a cookie set that came with an acrylic stand of a virtual streamer.

The total cost was around 6,000 yen.

It was quite an expense, but at least he was done shopping for his sister.

Now, he needed to find the others.

As he navigated through the crowd, he was drawn to various displays and exhibits, all of which looked incredibly appealing.

Although he had issues with Cyber Task as a company, he had to admit that their marketing strategies were impressive.

As Tōma continued walking along the crowded pathway, he accidentally bumped into someone.

When he looked up, he saw a man he recognized.

It was the suited man who was dating Saori.

Before Tōma could decide how to react, the man spoke to him first.