ODL – Chapter 29 – Special Guest

“────S-Surprise! We have a special guest with us today, the voice actress Yasumi Hiyori!” (Henrietta)

Shizuka spoke rapidly, managing to keep the conversation going somehow. Hiyorin seemed to immediately understand the situation, her expression showing a momentary realization of “I messed up.”

Shizuka clasped her hands together and desperately bowed to Hiyorin.

Miyabi-chan didn’t seem to understand to situation, but she appeared to be enjoying herself somehow.

……

I quickly sent a message to Hiyorin.

“(It’s Ette-sama’s off-collab right now. Zeria-chan is with her. Please act as if I’m not here.)” (Souma)

When I pointed to my own smartphone and tried to signal her to check her messages, Hiyorin pulled out her phone… then she gave me the “ok” hand signal.

Comments: 『!!!???』
Comments: 『Hiyorin?!?』
Comments: 『Seriously!?』
Comments: 『Is that really Yasumi Hiyori?』
Comments: 『What’s the relationship between the two of you!?』
Comments: 『God-tier collaboration confirmed』
Comments: 『Oh sh*ttttttttt!』

With the unexpected appearance of a popular voice actress, the comment section was showing an unprecedented level of excitement.

“Um, well, good evening! I’m the voice actress Yasumi Hiyori! I’m sorry, I didn’t know that this was an off-collab and ended up visiting Ette-sama’s house!” (Hiyori)

Comments: 『Was this really a coincidence? LOL, this is crazy!』
Comments: 『I didn’t know that there was a connection between Ette-sama and Hiyorin.』
Comments: 『This is getting quite exciting!』

“Well, um, I’ll just say it. Hiyori-san and I are actually neighbors in the same apartment building. We hang out quite often.” (Henrietta)

Shizuka confessed the relationship between her and Hiyorin with a resigned face. After hearing this, Miyabi-chan chimed in with a surprised “Ehhhhh” along with the comments.

Comments: 『This is unbelievable.』
Comments: 『Is there really such a dreamlike place in this world?』
Comments: 『I want to live there too.』

“Um… I’m sorry for disturbing all of you. I’ll be heading back first…” (Hiyori)

Comments: 『Noooo don’t gooooo!』
Comments: 『As a Hiyorin fan, I need to see the rest of this interaction.』
Comments: 『Since you’re already here, you should enjoy yourself.』

Like a fish getting caught, the chat is desperately trying not to let this rare opportunity slip away.

“…Wow, I didn’t know about this. Ah, nice to meet you, I’m Zeria from [Virtual Real]! I look forward to working with you!” (Zeria)

“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m voice actor Yasumi Hiyori.” (Hiyori)

Both of them bowed to each other.

“This might be out of the blue, but we’re in the middle of an off-collab stream right now. Would you like to join us too, Hiyori-san?” (Zeria)

“Huh… Is it really okay for me to just join in?” (Hiyori)

“Absolutely! The chat is also excited about having you here!” (Zeria)

Comments: 『Nice!』
Comments: 『Casually inviting a voice actor you just met, your social skills are off the charts lol』
Comments: 『Zeria’s mental strength is pretty strong after being subjected to too much [Zeria Torture].』

“Well then, I’m looking forward to working with you… I guess?” (Hiyori)

“Yay! Well then, everyone, we’re going to mute our mics for a quick meeting, just for 5 minutes! See you!” (Zeria)

Comments: 『Understood!』
Comments: 『Got it!』
Comments: 『Roger!』

◆

“I’m really, really sorry!” (Hiyori)

“No, it’s not your fault, Hiyorin-san. It’s because I forgot to tell you that Souma-kai was canceled for today.” (Souma)

“Well, well, it doesn’t really matter who’s at fault right now. Anyways, Tendo-san, good job with the cooking.” (Miyabi)

Despite the emergency situation, Miyabi-chan’s laid-back attitude somehow eases the tension in the air.

“You’re welcome. By the way, I guess I’m not really needed here anymore, huh?” (Souma)

“Yep~ If anything, things could get worse if another accident occurs. It’s probably better if you come back after we finish. Sorry, we are gonna have to borrow your place for a while.” (Miyabi)

“No worries at all. Well then…” (Souma)

I could just stay holed up in my room… but it would be hard for me to relax.

While considering options for passing the time outside, I thought of a good place.

“…I’ll be heading out. Once you’re done eating, you can leave the dishes in the kitchen. I’ll clean it up when I get back” (Souma)

“Got it!” (Miyabi)

“Souma-kun, thank you for today.” (Shizuka)

“Don’t worry about it, Shizuka. Enjoy your off-collab. Bye!” (Souma)

I left the house with two keys in hand.

One of them was my house key.

The other one was───

◆

“Ojamashimasu!” (Souma)

Never thought the day would come when I had to use Mafuyu-chan’s spare key.

Entering the living room, I found Mafuyu-chan lying on the sofa with her laptop placed on her belly.

“────Onii-chan. Seems like things are quite tough over there.” (Mafuyu)

“Mm…ah, were you watching?” (Souma)

On the screen of her laptop was the ongoing off-collab stream in my room. Since I had informed Mafuyu-chan about the off-collab, she is probably watching out of curiosity.

“Here, sit down?” (Mafuyu)

Mafuyu-chan got up from the sofa and moved to the side, making room for me.

“Thanks. Well then, don’t mind if I do.” (Souma)

The soft sofa cushioned my rear comfortably. I could feel Mafuyu-chan’s body heat left on the sofa, which oddly excited me a bit.

“Onii~chan♪” (Mafuyu)

As soon as I sat down, Mafuyu-chan clung to my arm. It was probably deliberate, but her chest was pressing firmly against my arm.

Whether intentional or not, I can’t help but enjoy it. I guess men are just not made to be able to resist this softness.

I placed the laptop, which had been pushed to the corner, on my lap. The stream seemed to have resumed.

“Hey, Mafuyu-chan, you’re really close. Let’s just watch the off-collab.” (Souma)

“Buu, just when onii-chan came over to my place…” (Mafuyu)

While saying that, Mafuyu-chan directed her gaze to the laptop while continuing to use my arm as a pillow.

…Since I’m the one bothering her, it should be okay to lend her my body a bit. But could you please stop sandwiching my hand between your thighs?

It’s getting a bit too vivid. With the warmth and all that.

“(Uwaaah, sooooo deliciouuuus! Ette’s cooking is sooo goood! Seriously, you could open a restaurant with this!)” (Zeria)

“(Zeria-chan, you’re exaggerating a bit too much. But thanks!)” (Henrietta)

“(No, I also think you could open a restaurant too. I can’t live without Ette’s cooking anymore.)” (Hiyori)

“(Hiyori-san, do you always eat Ette’s cooking?)” (Zeria)

“(I get to eat it occasionally. It’s my secret to staying in good shape.)” (Hiyori)

“(Lucky! I might come over to eat too!)” (Zeria)

Earlier, Hiyorin was caught off guard, but now she had completely switched to streaming mode.

Comments: 『Hiyorin is the number 1 trending topic LOL』
Comments: 『Is she really trending already?』
Comments: 『Looks so deliciooouuusss』

“Wow, it’s true.” (Souma)

When I checked the trending topics on Twitter, Hiyorin was at the top. Well, it’s natural for people to start making a fuss when a popular voice actor suddenly joins in. Just by doing a quick search, there were many posts like “Hiyorin unexpectedly broke into Ette-sama and Zelia’s off-collab LOL”.

” …Onii-chan, you’re not allowed to do that.” (Mafuyu)

“What do you mean?” (Souma)

Mafuyu-chan muttered discontentedly.

“Souma-kai is already full. There’s no space to sit anymore.” (Mafuyu)

” ? …Oh, right. I’m happy that she wants to eat with us, but it would probably be inconvenient for her to come all the way here.” (Souma)

It seemed like Mafuyu-chan was concerned about Zeria-chan’s comment about coming over to eat. But I also didn’t have any intention of adding more people. Souma-kai had naturally grown in size, but that didn’t mean it was open to just anyone.

It’s just that the people who happen to live next door are the ones who make me feel that “I want to cook for this person.”

“…I’ll only tell you about this, Mafuyu-chan. At first, Souma-kai was actually quite tiring for me because I had already gotten used to eating alone. Although it’s enjoyable while we’re eating, after we disband, I will feel exhausted.” (Souma)

Mafuyu-chan didn’t interrupt. But I could tell from the atmosphere that she was listening.

“But you know, recently, I’ve grown fond of the space that we share. It’s not just because I’ve gotten used to eating with a group, but also because everyone in Souma-kai is special to me. So, I don’t plan on adding more people. No matter who they are.” (Souma)

“…Special.” (Mafuyu)

Mafuyu-chan muttered softly.

“Special… does that include me?” (Mafuyu)

“Of course. You’re special to me too, Mafuyu-chan.” (Souma)

“I see… Then, that’s good.” (Mafuyu)

Gyuuu I felt a gentle squeeze around my arm.

When I stole a quick glance at her… Mafuyu-chan had a very serene expression on her face.

……

The computer was playing loud audio, but it didn’t really register in my ears. The peaceful time I am spending with Mafuyu-chan right now feels much more comforting.

Though we hadn’t exchanged many words afterward… I feel that Mafuyu-chan felt the same way.

For some reason, I was confident of that.

◇

…By the way, during that stream, they were apparently having a serious discussion about Hiyorin potentially launching a MeTube channel. This would also become relevant to me, but that’s a story for a bit later.

Illustration of Mafuyu hugging MC’s arm