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 39

When checking the internet, it was clear that the situation had escalated dramatically.

Even though a day had passed since the event, the uproar on social media showed no signs of calming down.

If anything, it was getting worse.

Holding his smartphone in one hand, Tōma Suzuki scrolled through the flood of online posts.

He wasn’t sure how long this controversy would last, but it was clear that the company’s operations were in serious jeopardy.

Some VTubers affiliated with CyberTask had already decided to leave.

Simply being associated with the company could damage their careers, so many had made the tough choice to resign.

Tōma had witnessed the incident firsthand yesterday, and as he placed his phone facedown on the table, he wasn’t surprised by how things were unfolding.

“Hey, Onii-chan, can I have some of your fries?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks!”

His younger sister, Emi, used her chopsticks to move a small portion of fries onto her plate.

Then, dipping them into ketchup, she began eating one at a time.

They were currently at a department store’s basement food court, having lunch—a plan they had made together long ago.

By this time in the afternoon, the restaurant had quieted down, with fewer customers remaining.

“You know, instead of fries, would you mind having the parfait instead?”

“Huh? Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I ordered a jumbo-sized one, but I don’t think I can finish it.”

“Oh, I see. Alright, I’ll take care of it then.”

Tōma took the parfait glass near Emi and scooped up a bite with a silver spoon.

It tasted perfectly fine.

The combination of cream, banana, and chocolate was excellently balanced. Even though it was partially eaten, it was still delicious.

“Onii-chan, thanks for bringing me here today.”

His sister smiled brightly from across the table.

“It’s no big deal. I didn’t have any plans anyway.”

“But… weren’t you supposed to hang out with Kamiya-san today?”

“Well, yeah, I was, but Suzuha had something urgent come up. Instead of wasting the day, I figured I’d take you out instead.”

“I see. It actually worked out perfectly for me, too. A nice change of pace.”

Emi had been working hard on her entrance exam studies.

A break like this was well deserved.

After finishing their meal, they both felt pleasantly full and a little sleepy, but they couldn’t stay there forever.

Tōma was the first to suggest, “Let’s pay and head out.”

“Yeah, I’m stuffed. I think I’m good now.”

“I’ll cover the bill.”

As he checked his wallet, Emi looked at him in concern.

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah.”

“But didn’t you already spend a lot yesterday on that snack set? Aren’t you overspending?”

She was referring to the massive amount of snacks he had impulsively bought at the VTuber event.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but… don’t push yourself too hard. I have my own allowance, so I can pay for myself.”

“In that case, do you want to just pay for your share?”

“Yeah, that’d make me feel better.”

They stood up from their seats, chatting as they walked to the cashier.

After paying, Emi mentioned she wanted to find a book for school, so Tōma accompanied her to a nearby bookstore.

Monday Morning

Tōma overslept a little.

He rushed to get ready and barely made it to school ten minutes before class.

After changing into his indoor shoes at the entrance, he made his way to the classroom.

As he walked through the hallway, he overheard a whispered conversation.

It was about VTubers.

Even though the industry was just starting to gain mainstream popularity, the power of social media was undeniable.

A single comment could spread like wildfire, drawing in more people and escalating further.

Once something started gaining traction, it was impossible to stop.

The internet made information-sharing incredibly easy, but one wrong move could lead to disastrous consequences.

“Did you hear? That company stole someone else’s avatar. It wasn’t just similar—they copied it on purpose.”

“Wow, that’s awful. What’s going to happen to them?”

“Well, there was this guy who originally developed their avatar system… but he just quit. Because of that, it looks like the company can’t continue as before. Not sure if they’ll go bankrupt, though.”

“That’s crazy.”

“And get this—it wasn’t a person who copied the avatar.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently, it was an AI. They trained an AI with language data and had it use the stolen avatar.”

“Wait, seriously? Aren’t VTubers supposed to be people?”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too, but who knows? It’s just a rumor, so take it with a grain of salt.”

“If it really was AI, though, that’s some insane technology.”

“Yeah.”

Tōma listened as he walked past them.

Whether or not AI was involved, the voice of the penguin avatar sounded exactly like Suzuha.

The only way to replicate a voice that perfectly was either through a professional voice actor or AI.

With no official confirmation yet, he couldn’t say for sure.

But considering how AI was advancing, it wasn’t out of the question.

When Tōma entered his second-floor classroom, the conversation inside was also dominated by the VTuber controversy.

He quietly made his way to his seat.

After hanging his backpack on the side of his desk and looking up, he noticed that Saori Azusa was missing.

Even when she was late, she always arrived at least five minutes before homeroom.

But even after the teacher took attendance, Saori never showed up.

Then, the teacher announced:

“One more thing—Azusa Saori has withdrawn from school as of yesterday.

I was told it was due to family circumstances, but I don’t have any more details.

Please don’t pry too much into it.”

After that, the teacher moved on to the usual morning announcements.

Saori was gone.

Apparently, the Azusa family had moved away.

Hearing this, Tōma briefly recalled their past together.

There were good memories—happy ones—but in the grand scheme of life, they no longer mattered.

It was time to move on.

With that in mind, during lunch break, Tōma decided to invite Suzuha Kamiya, his current girlfriend, to eat together.