Chapter 19
TL: Scaramochi
***
Suddenly, the love message I'm posting to Rinka got buzzed overnight.
110,000 likes. The number of comments reached 10,000.
The buzz came from a post I made before I went to bed.
I honestly didn't remember what I posted until I saw the notification. And since there was no buzz factor in my post, I thought it was some kind of mistake.
But...
[Uhehehehe. I'm going to sleep on the same pillow as her. It's as if we're sleeping together now.]
I took another look at the content of the post, and I understood roughly why the buzz was so strong.
I think it's too much and weird even for me.
The people who saw the post seemed to be the same way.
--- "That's too much!"
--- "That's it. This is the kind of guy who brings home a recorder used by someone he likes."
--- "Maybe you should take compulsory education again. I'm not suggesting it, but please start over again for the sake of the world and people."
--- "The thought of a man like this breathing oxygen on the same planet gives me goosebumps."
Comments that make me sick or criticize me.
The comment section is a wild, wild place, but not a single comment sticks in my mind, because they are all true. Because they are all right.
Of course, I should say, the number of DMs is 99+.
As I skim through them, they all make fun of me.
"Pfft."
I smiled sinisterly, like a villain in a story, and tried to return Rinka's good qualities to the DMs one by one.
Then.
A phone call came in.
On the screen of the phone was the word "Rinka".
Seeing that, I picked up the phone as if I were jumping at the chance.
"Ri, Rinka. Good morning. What's wrong with you this morning?"
|| "What's wrong, no! Yanagi, you, you, you, you're buzzing!"
I could hear the excitement in her voice alone.
"You're buzzed. I just woke up and noticed it."
|| "Ufufu....... is not that, it's not that, it's that, it's Buzz and there was an article on the internet about Yanagi."
"Seriously?"
|| "Yeah. "Stalkers will never disappear from this world!" That was the headline. It's a bit of a misnomer to call Yanagi a stalker, isn't it?"
Rinka is angry.
If you look at that buzzed post and past posts, you'd be a more proper person to think I'm a stalker.
Rinka sees me on the inside too, which is why she says these things.
"Rinka. But if someone who doesn't know anything about me sees that post, they will misunderstand....... No, I doubt if it's a misunderstanding in the first place."
|| "I doubt it. I don't know, I feel bad because I was one-sidedly made fun of by you, Yanagi."
"Please let that feeling sink in here. If you do something, even Rinka will be hit by a stray bullet."
|| "......I understand."
"I'm glad to hear Rinka's voice in my sleep too. I have a feeling that today is going to be a great day."
|| "Fufu. I'm not God, you know........ Come to think of it, I have something to do from now on."
"What do you have to do?"
|| "Hmm? Housework."
"Can you do that......?"
|| "I couldn't cook, but I can dry and fold laundry. Perhaps you made fun of me, Yanagi?"
"No, no, no. I wouldn't make fun of someone I like. I was just a little worried."
|| "Hmm........"
She sounded somewhat dissatisfied.
"Well, okay. I've got things to do....... I mean, it's not part of the conversation at all, but you can feel free to call me. You know. If you're lonely or something."
|| "Seriously?"
"Yeah, I'm serious."
|| "Well, I'll call you later."
"Okay. Call me anytime you want."
|| "......Yeah."
For a few seconds, we silently played games about who was going to hang up the phone, and then I hung up on her.
We didn't talk much, but I was very happy to hear Rinka's voice in the morning, even though it was my day off.
I would have been up and about, but I was lying on my bed, squishy with joy.
Of course, my phone was on the DM screen.
I'm going to spend the rest of the day proselytizing.
I was supposed to be on.......
"Hmm?"
My eyes were caught by one suspicious account.
The account name is 'A'. The account was created today and hasn't posted anything. I am the only one who follows the account.
This alone is not enough to grab my attention.
What was taken away was the content that was sent to me.
[Are you one of us, by any chance?]
Not just this.
The next thing I was sent was a familiar apartment. It was also a familiar sunset, and a familiar female figure.
"What!!!!"
I couldn't speak.
What I see in this image is definitely Rinka and the apartment where Rinka lives.
Judging from the sentence sent to me, the sender of this DM is a real stalker of Rinka.
"Seriously?"
I thought about contacting Rinka immediately. However, I would cause Rinka unnecessary worry.
This thought blunted my calm judgment, and I decided to resolve this matter on my own.
Although I decided to do so.
I don't know what to do.
What I want to do is for this stalker to stop stalking Rinka.
Without discussing it first, there is no chance of that happening.
[I have been sleeping until now. I was wondering, looking at the statement, what exactly do you mean by that?]
The reply came as I was alone, eating the fried rice that had been left out for breakfast and lunch.
[That girl. I'm asking if you're stalking that girl too?]
Rough language.......
I need to be careful here.
[If you ask me if I'm stalking her, the answer is no. I am not following her or anything like that.]
I got an immediate reply.
[Then, what's your post about? If you're not a stalker, are you a misunderstood b*stard?]
[No, I'm not. I have a crush on her. I'm going to say it since it's...... but can you please stop stalking my girlfriend?]
[Huh? I'm not going to stop.]
Apparently I made a mistake in the way I started the conversation.
[You're saying you have a crush on her too, but that's no different than just stalking her. Don't get carried away.]
[I'm not a stalker.]
No matter how much I want to dampen the other person's spirits, I refuse to accept that part of it.
[I'm telling you that's wrong. You're a stalker just like me, a stalker.]
[That's why I'm not.]
[That's okay, you don't have to admit it. I respect you for identifying the pillow that girl uses, okay?]
I feel like this is going in a weird direction.
......No, this is an opportunity to go the other way, isn't it?
[Mr. Stalker. If you want, why don't we meet up today?]
[Huh? What are you going to do if we meet?]
[Just some idle chit-chat. You see, we are both stalkers who are after the same prey. Don't you think we're kindred spirits?]
[You've got a point. Okay, then where and when shall we meet?]
We exchanged a few more DMs and agreed to meet at a nearby coffee shop an hour from now.
"Haa."
I am aware that I am being aggressive. But that's easy to do when I think it's all for Rinka's sake.
I finished my fried rice, and the time passed quickly.
I don't want anyone I know to find out, so I put on all black and head to the coffee shop.
My steps were strangely light, even though I was about to go into battle.
A few minutes passed after arriving at the coffee shop.
Suddenly, a man spoke to me.
"Um, are you him by any chance......?"
"Nice to meet you."
Even without saying his name, I knew who he was.
The stalker.
The man who threatened Rinka's peace.
"Okay."
"Well, let's get started."
Thus began the one-on-one discussion.
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