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 37

“Alright, let’s proceed with that plan.”

“Yes, that approach should work.”

“Understood. Let’s get started right away.”

A family restaurant about a ten-minute walk from the event venue.

There, four people, including Tōma Suzuki, were seated around a table.

On the table were empty dishes and glasses from their finished meals.

They had just concluded an hour-long meeting over lunch at a location neither too close nor too far from the event venue.

Agreeing with Yoshizaki’s opinion, Suzuha and Tsubaki, sitting beside each other on the same sofa, nodded.

“Tōma, are you good with this as well?”

Yoshizaki, seated next to Tōma, sought final confirmation.

“Yes, no problem. I don’t see any issues with what we just agreed on.”

Tōma accepted Yoshizaki’s plan without objections.

With Tsubaki Sakurada having recorded the discussion, they had carefully devised their course of action and finally reached a conclusion.

Now, the key was executing it properly.

“It would be best to send the details of our discussion to your phones now.”

Yoshizaki looked at the other three as he spoke, holding his phone with the shared information stored inside.

Since Tōma and Tsubaki used the same social media platform as Yoshizaki, sharing the information was quick.

However, Suzuha Kamiya did not have a social media account.

She had no intention of creating one but ended up making a throwaway account with a random name.

“I’ve set up an account, so could you send me the message now?”

“Sure, but before that, I need your account information to send it. Could you share your handle or email?”

“Of course.”

Suzuha and Yoshizaki exchanged information while showing each other their phone screens.

“Alright, it’s done. Thank you.”

“No problem. This is important, so memorize the details. Try not to check messages while inside the venue—if our strategy gets exposed, it will cause trouble later.”

“Understood, I’ll keep that in mind.”

After reviewing the message, Suzuha displayed a determined expression.

What they were about to do was crucial for her—failure was not an option.

Despite the tense atmosphere, she radiated a strong aura of determination, vowing to resolve this issue.

With their objectives now clear in their minds, the four of them stood up from their seats.

Yoshizaki covered the bill for everyone. Tōma felt guilty about relying on him so much.

Suzuha and Tsubaki had offered to pay their shares, but Yoshizaki insisted on treating them, so they ultimately accepted his generosity.

Leaving the restaurant, they retraced their steps back to the event venue.

After a ten-minute walk, they arrived, but there was a problem—Tsubaki’s event pass had expired, and the receptionist refused to let her in.

“Let me handle this.”

Yoshizaki stepped up to the receptionist in Tsubaki’s place.

As someone involved in organizing the event, his words carried weight, and he quickly resolved the issue, allowing them entry.

Inside the venue in the evening.

Outside, the sky was darkening, but the venue remained brightly lit.

With numerous electronic displays, including large tablets, the lighting was slightly overwhelming.

Although the event was nearing its end, the venue was still bustling with energy.

The VTubers from Cyber Task, participating in the event, were highly skilled.

Because of that, this situation felt unfortunate.

Their actions might upset some people.

But they had no choice.

This was about protecting Suzuha’s honor.

If they let this slide, it could set a precedent where victims are always at a disadvantage, leading to more victims in the future.

“Alright, let’s split up as planned. If we stay together, we might draw suspicion. If anything happens, I might send a message, so check your accounts when possible. Just make sure no one is watching when you do.”

“”Understood.””

The three nodded in agreement.

All that remained was for each of them to fulfill their role.

That was the most important thing.

Standing near the entrance, they went their separate ways and moved through the venue.

Tōma’s role was to observe anything suspicious in the venue and report it to Yoshizaki.

So far, nothing significant had happened.

As he walked around, he saw high-quality merchandise on display.

No—he couldn’t afford to get distracted.

He shook his head, refocusing on his task.

As he continued scanning the venue, he felt an unpleasant presence.

Someone was radiating an aura that made him want to flee.

Standing in his line of sight was Saori Azusa.

He tried to avoid eye contact and walk away.

But at the worst possible moment, Saori turned around, and their eyes met.

They had unexpectedly run into each other, and Tōma felt doomed.

As he stood frozen, she started walking toward him.

“You actually came to an event like this. I don’t remember you being into this kind of thing.”

“W-Well, sort of…”

Though they were classmates and childhood friends, it felt like ages since they had spoken.

Not wanting to seem suspicious, he gave a vague reply.

“I see. Well, whatever. By the way, what exactly have you been doing?”

“Huh? Nothing in particular.”

“Really? You looked like you were patrolling the venue.”

Saori narrowed her eyes.

“My brother told me that you were acting suspicious. You spoke with him earlier, didn’t you?”

“W-Why do you know that?!”

“Because he contacted me. Are you scheming something?”

“N-No, of course not!”

“Really now? If you are, you should come clean. My brother is currently the head of a popular VTuber agency. Do you understand what would happen if you tried anything foolish here?”

This was bad.

Tōma hadn’t expected to run into Saori, and now he was struggling to find a response.

Then, at that moment—

The large screen on the venue wall suddenly lit up.

“Huh? Is this some kind of announcement?”

“Maybe. I wonder what it’s about.”

“This is unexpected. It wasn’t mentioned in the schedule.”

The crowd murmured in confusion.

“Wait, what? My brother didn’t tell me about this…”

Saori seemed genuinely flustered.

The timing was perfect, and Tōma felt saved.

Yoshizaki sure works fast.

In that moment, Tōma was reminded of just how capable Yoshizaki was.