Kaiwa mo shinai tsurekko no imouto ga, naganen issho ni baka yatte-kita Netoge no friend datta

“It’s what we call an Online-net game. This lunchbox is ― well, that’s how it is.”

“But even so, to bring only fried chicken in the bento-box. …”

“True enough.”

“But you made it all yourself, didn’t you?”

“… as I thought, it was too much, wasn’t it?”

“Pfft! …!”

Once again, unable to control herself, she broke out in a laughter.

Since I was not used to being laughed at like this, I absolutely had no idea how to react. I was frowning like h**l right then.

“Oh, by the way, who’s Urie-tan?”

“Ah, …, so you indeed heard me …”

Being laughed at, felt so uncomfortable so much that I, asked her what I had been wondering about as a counterattack. Doing so, this time, the look on her face changed to that of embarrassment. It was only four or five seconds. It wasn’t that much time, but it got too embarrassing to stare at each other in an atmosphere of complete silence. Then, with a cute shout,

“Okay!”

Nanjo Rin came towards me and showed me her phone.

“Hmm?”

On the screen was an illustration of a girl in an idol-like outfit. It looked somewhat fantasy-like, with pointed ears. And there were several commands lined up about it. It looked familiar to me, like that of a social online-net game, whose banner add I seen just the other day on the Internet.

“If I recall it correctly, it’s a game about raising idols in a different world …?”

“Yes, spot on! That’s right, and among them, my favourite idol is this Urie-tan! And you the best thing about Urie-tan, that is ―”

Saying that Nanjo Rin leaned forward and started explaining various things to me.

She got so excited that I was slightly taken aback. Her tarot divination somehow does not match with her hobby, the swimsuit of Urie-Tan is a hindrance to all the good ability of her, her reticent silent character is the one I am aiming for because it is just terribly cute, etc. To show the extent of the cuteness of Urie-tan, she made gestures with each and every limb in her whole body.

― So, she also makes this kind of face huh.

Her excitement to show her extent of adoration towards the things she liked all in one go, was just like a little girl talking merrily about her favourite things. If you look at it for a while, you’ll see that she gets angry, happy, and excited … her expressions changing in a variety of ways in a moment’s time. It was far separated from the usual image of her as a smiling and a charming woman. But is this really the actual personality of Nanjo Rin?

If that’s the case, then the smile she usually shows that attracts people is just a mask. But somehow I felt a true connection to her in this form, ― and that very thing somehow caught my attention.

―Philia-san?

I don’t know why, but for some reason it starts overlapping with my image of Philia again and again.

The way she talks about whatever she wants without worrying about being seen is very similar to her. Oh, now I see. When I think of it, I can immediately feel Nanjo Rin frolicking in front of me with a smile. My mouth loosens naturally thinking about it.

“That is why, I like her so much.”

“Un?! Eh, no that’s… is that something strange? I wonder…”

Perhaps returning to reality due to my words, somehow, she bowed down shamefully, with her ears dyed in red till her ears. And then, she looked up towards me in a way as if she saw something unexpected.

“It’s obviously not like that. Even I like games too and look at this is what I got for bento due to that.”

“That’s right! Three colored bento … pfft.”

“So that’s how it is.”

“Pfft! … Hahaha!”

As if to say that it is really funny, she begins laughing holding her stomach. With an energy as if she had been released from something which had held her back till now. After laughing for a moment, Nanjo Rin then suddenly put on a serious face and stared right into my eyes.

“Ah It was so fun! … Hey, can you keep your mouth closed about the stuff you saw?”

“You mean the game in your smartphone?”

“Yeah.”

“Surely, understood.”

I don’t think it’s a particularly a strange hobby to like and play games. If you say it like that, Hiyori is also a quite a degree of gamer herself. But certainly, I was surprised by her infatuations and breaking apart that I saw earlier though.