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 40

It was lunchtime after class.

Tōma Suzuki was on the rooftop of the school.

Suzuha Kamiya sat beside him on the same bench, and the two were eating lunch together.

Tōma had bought a peanut-filled koppepan from the school store, while Suzuha had purchased her lunch earlier from a convenience store on her way to school.

She had been quite busy yesterday, so she didn’t have a homemade bento today.

Suzuha took out a pack of three sandwiches from the bag and started eating.

The sandwiches contained eggs, lettuce, and other ingredients. They looked quite delicious.

As Tōma ate with Suzuha, he couldn’t help but think—

Saori was no longer at this school.

At last, he felt like he had removed a major obstacle from his mind.

Not having to think about Saori anymore made him feel incredibly at ease.

Tōma took a bite of his bread, drank some of his beverage, and took a deep breath.

“Asusa-san has already dropped out, right?”

Suzuha suddenly brought up the topic while holding her sandwich near her mouth.

“Yeah, it seems so.”

“Do you feel relieved, Tōma?”

“…Yeah. Most of my worries were related to Saori. Honestly, I do feel relieved.”

Though Tōma’s expression carried traces of past troubles, he quickly changed his mindset and reassured Suzuha that there was nothing to worry about.

“I see. Then that’s good. You and Asusa-san were childhood friends, right? So I was wondering how you felt about it. I was just a little curious. But if your worries are gone, that’s great… Sorry for bringing up something weird.”

“It’s fine.”

Tōma reassured her that it wasn’t an issue.

He and Saori had once made promises about the future.

They had talked about going to the same university after high school, about what they wanted to do as working adults. They had discussed their future in depth.

Until a few weeks ago, everything had been fine.

But due to family circumstances, Saori had no choice but to break things off in a forceful way.

Even after learning about it later, Tōma still couldn’t accept it.

There was no way he would ever get back together with her now.

From here on, he planned to spend his school life with Suzuha, his current girlfriend.

Finally, he could start doing more “couple-like” things with her. As he ate, he began daydreaming about their future school life together.

“By the way, Tōma, do you have any plans today?”

Tōma paused, holding his bread in his right hand.

He didn’t have any major plans for the day.

“Are you asking if I want to hang out?”

“Well, something like that. Actually, yesterday, I spent time with Tsubaki after she invited me.”

“Oh, really? You could’ve invited me too.”

“But she specifically asked to talk one-on-one.”

“Ah, I see. If that was the case, then it can’t be helped.”

Tōma had been curious about what Suzuha had been up to yesterday, but now that mystery was solved.

“Also, remember how Tsubaki said she wanted to be a virtual streamer?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“Well, she asked me to mentor her as her senpai in the virtual streaming world. I’m going to spend time with her again today after school. Would you like to come along too?”

“Are you sure? Is Tsubaki okay with it?”

“I got her permission yesterday, so it’s fine.”

“Alright, then I’ll come too.”

“Great! Let’s all hang out together, okay, Tōma?”

Tōma had wanted to spend time alone with Suzuha, but since their junior Tsubaki was asking for help, he figured he should lend a hand.

“Senpai, I knew I’d find you here.”

Just as they were talking about Tsubaki, she appeared on the rooftop.

She stood near the rooftop entrance and waved slightly toward the two sitting on the bench.

“Tsubaki! Come over here for a sec.”

Without standing up, Suzuha called Tsubaki over.

“So, about today. Tōma’s going to help out too.”

“Really? That’s great!”

Tsubaki smiled as she stood before them.

“So, what exactly do you need me to do?”

“Senpai, you’re really good at drawing virtual streamer avatars, right? Could you help me design my streaming outfit?”

Tsubaki clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

“A streaming outfit?”

“Yes! I think you have great artistic sense. Yesterday, while talking with Suzuha-senpai, we thought that before hiring a professional, it would be best to consult you first.”

“I see. But are you sure you want me to do it?”

“Yes! If I start streaming with an avatar designed by you, Senpai, I feel like things will go well. And if it’s a design you created, I won’t feel as nervous during the streams.”

“Nervous? I’ve never really seen you get nervous before.”

“Actually, I get stage fright pretty easily. I’m not very good at interacting with large groups of people.”

“Really? I didn’t know that. Is that why you usually spend time alone?”

“Yes. But now that I get to talk with you more often, I’m getting a little better at it. Still, I do get nervous sometimes. Though I can talk normally in small groups.”

“I see…”

Tōma realized that Tsubaki had her own struggles.

If his design could help ease her worries, then it was worth doing.

“Tōma, I’m counting on you, okay? I tried drawing a design yesterday, but…”

Suzuha showed him her drawing on her phone.

“…Well, if we make some adjustments, it might work.”

“Really?”

“…It’s a bit rough, but yeah.”

Suzuha wasn’t very good at drawing.

It seemed like this was his moment to step up.

If it would help Tsubaki, he would gladly design her avatar.

“Tsubaki, what kind of design do you want?”

“Well, I talked about it with Suzuha-senpai, and I want my content to be book-related. So I’d like my avatar to reflect that.”

Tsubaki spoke seriously, trying to put her thoughts into words.

“Then maybe you should start by defining your virtual world. Virtual streamers often have a unique world they’re part of, and their character design revolves around it.”

“A world based on books…”

Tsubaki pondered for a moment.

“How about a character from the demon world who comes to Earth to learn about books?”

Suzuha excitedly suggested an idea.

“But Tsubaki wants to share the joy of books with others, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

Tsubaki nodded.

“If she’s learning about books, that might not align with her goal. Instead, she should be a character who teaches about books.”

“Then how about an elf? In stories, elves live long lives and are often very knowledgeable. That would match Tsubaki’s concept.”

Suzuha suggested as she thought it over.

“That could work.”

Tōma agreed, and Tsubaki accepted Suzuha’s idea.

“Alright, let’s work out the other details now.”

Tōma took out his phone, opened a memo app, and tapped on the screen.

And so, until the bell signaling the end of lunch rang, the three of them continued discussing the virtual avatar design.