ODL – Chapter 76 – Going Out Together And Getting Along

Cute. Beautiful. I think it suits you. It’s stylish.

The moment I saw Hiyorin standing at the entrance, various words raced through my mind. I had the urge to say those words, but ultimately, the words that came out of my mouth were something completely different. If I could say those words here, I’d be what they call a “riajuu¹“.

“Good morning, Hiyorin-san.”  (Souma)

“Good morning, Souma-kun. It’s a nice day to go out, isn’t it?”  (Hiyori)

Wearing a pure white top and an emerald green long skirt, Hiyorin, with her cool yet distinctly feminine black sandals, smiled at me as she said that. We only just met and my heart is already pounding loudly… I can’t believe I’m about to go out with this person now…

Even though I see Hiyorin in her casual clothes every day, just the thought that I’m about to go out with this person makes her everyday attire look like a luxurious dress. It’s amazing how the human brain interprets things.

“Hiyorin-san, you wearing sunglasses, huh? It’s kind of surprising.”  (Souma)

“Haha… I don’t usually wear them, you know? But today, since I’m going out with Souma-kun… just in case, you know?”  (Hiyori)

“Ah…”  (Souma)

Upon hearing that, I was taken aback.

“Um… Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this?”  (Souma)

Hiyorin is an up-and-coming idol voice actress who has been gaining a lot of popularity lately. If we were to get caught walking together by a weekly magazine or something, it would surely become a big problem. It might even affect Hiyorin’s future work.

However, Hiyorin paid no heed to my concerns and tilted her head with a nonchalant expression.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”  (Hiyori)

“I’m talking about going out with me. It would be a big problem if we got caught by the press, right…?”  (Souma)

“Hmm, well…”  (Hiyori)

Hiyorin started walking towards the elevator so I quickly followed her. Hiyorin pressed the elevator button and then turned to me, pinching the edge of her sunglasses with both hands.

“…It wouldn’t really matter, right? I mean, you wouldn’t even recognize me.”  (Hiyori)

I do recognize you, you’re my oshi after all… is what I wanted to say, but I guess she wasn’t exactly wrong. When I looked at Hiyorin’s entire figure with a neutral mindset, I realized that perhaps only acquaintances would recognize her as the voice actress Yasumi Hiyori. To everyone else, she probably just looked like a stylish and attractive older sister.

“That might be true, but…”  (Souma)

But considering how dire the consequences are for getting caught, I couldn’t quite bring myself to feel at ease. People who end up in tabloids² probably all think, “There’s no way I would get caught.”

“Ah!?”  (Souma)

With the cool touch of her hand, all those unpleasant thoughts vanished.

“Don’t worry about the details. If I keep worrying about stuff like that, I won’t be able to do anything. Let’s just have fun today, okay?”  (Hiyori)

Hiyorin… she was holding my hand. My body was rapidly heating up. Wait, is this real?

Hiyorin isn’t drunk right now. She wasn’t in her usual alcohol-induced state. The normal Hiyorin was holding my hand of her own accord.

“Wait a mi—!?”  (Souma)

“Alright, let’s go!”  (Hiyori)

Faced with this incomprehensible reality, my thoughts were in complete disarray.

I was dragged by Hiyorin into the elevator that had just arrived.

◆

[Shizuka PoV]

“(…Bzzz, bzzzzz… This is Agent RS. Agent MM, do you read me? Repeating… This is Agent RS. Agent MM, do you read me.)”  (Shizuka)

“(What’s with this ‘Agent MM’? And you’re just making the ‘bzzz’ sound with your mouth.)”  (Mafuyu)

“(Transceivers make a ‘bzz’ sound too, you know. Anyways, are you ready?)”  (Shizuka)

“(Been ready for a while. What about you?)”  (Mafuyu)

“(I’m good too. I just peeked out the door, and it looks like it’s time to go… Ah!!)”  (Shizuka)

“(Shizuka , don’t be so loud.)”  (Mafuyu)

“(It’s not Shizuka! it’s Agent RS! But more importantly, Mafuyu, Hiyorin is up to something incredible!)”  (Shizuka)

“(Wasn’t I supposed to be Agent MM? So, what happened on with Hiyori-san?)”  (Mafuyu)

“(You see… Hiyorin was holding Souma-kun’s hand really tightly!)”  (Shizuka)

“(Wha!?)”  (Mafuyu)

“(I know right?! Mafuyu, we have to chase them!)”  (Shizuka)

When I ended the Rime call and stepped out into the entrance, Mafuyu appeared at the same time. Her face was pale, devoid of any vitality.

“I can’t forgive her… Onii-chan’s hands are only meant for me!”  (Mafuyu)

“W-Well, I also want to hold it…”  (Shizuka)

I timidly raised my hand, and Mafuyu shot me a dagger-like glare. Actually, it felt like something had physically pierced me. My stomach was hurting for some reason.

“Did you say something?”  (Mafuyu)

“N-No… Nothing…”  (Shizuka)

This girl is supposed to be younger than me, right…?

What’s with this intensity…?

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Thanks for reading!

I thought they had actual transceivers until Shizuka hung up the Rime call lmao. I was initially impressed that she went and bought a set just to roleplay this segment but I guess not.

P.S. MM = Minase Mafuyu, RS = Rinjou Shizuka

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1. Riajuu means normie. And if you don’t know what normie means, here is a google search: It is a slang to describe a person who has or is living their life in the real world to the fullest, typically with a healthy social life, making friends, falling in love etc.
2. Tabloid is a type of newspaper that has smaller pages, many pictures, and short reports: The tabloids often attract readers with sensational headlines.