Chapter 1-22 : Sudden Celebrity (part 2)
「What do you mean I’m the victim? What did she do to me?」(Alice)
「To put it simply, Lynette exposed you to other players in the forum. That’s why Rin and the other girls got mad at her.」(Shougo)
「Hm? Exposed me…?」(Alice)
Have I done something bad that I don’t want other people to know?
I don’t think so…
「Did Lynette-san spread bad rumors about me? But… I don’t think she’s that kind of person…」(Alice)
「Well, yeah, she didn’t. There’s no way she would harm her friends.」(Shougo)
「So, what did she say about me?」(Alice)
「Umm…」(Shougo)
For some reason, Shougo looked away as his face turned a bit red.
I wonder if it’s something that’s hard to say.
「She… told people in the forum… how cute you were…」(Shougo)
「…Huh?」(Alice)
She told people… what?
「Alice is indeed cute.」(Ruka)
Suddenly, Ruka, who had been hiding behind me, glanced upward at me and said that.
「That’s right! Alice-chan is cute! But, you are super cute too! Are you Alice-chan’s friend? Would you mind telling me your name, my cute lady~?」(Shuu)
「……」(Ruka)
Ruka quickly hid behind my back again when Shuu aggressively talked to her.
I glared angrily at him for scaring my friend. At the same time, Shougo hit his head.
「Shuu-san!」(Alice)
「You scared her!」(Shougo)
「ーOuch! I was just trying to have a friendly conversation with her!」(Shuu)
「Yeah, but you’re too aggressive! Do I have to hit your head every time you pick up a girl like that?」(Shougo)
「Please, don’t!」(Shuu)
Seeing the two, Gaul, who had been silently watching, couldn’t help but sigh.
「Forget this idiot. Alice, you still look confused, so let me explain.」(Shougo)
「I’m listening.」(Alice)
「Alright, you probably don’t think you’re cute, but… you are. Your beauty is above the standard of average female players in this game in my opinion…」(Shougo)
「Umm…」(Alice)
Being called cute by someone, especially one of my childhood friends, made me feel a bit embarrassed. I couldn’t help but look away awkwardly.
Not just me, Shougo looked embarrassed too.
We’ve known each other for a long time. It must have been very awkward for him to call me cute.
「O… kay…? So…」(Alice)
「Ahem! So, here’s the thing. There’s a thread in the in-game forum where people talk about attractive female players. The other day, they were having a long and exciting talk. You know what they were talking about? They were talking about you. And the reason for that was the crying cat girl over there mentioned your name on the thread.」(Shougo)
「I see…」(Alice)
I shifted my gaze toward Lynette who was still kneeling before Rin, Leone, and Kururu.
So that’s the reason why they are scolding her. I don’t know if I should feel bad for her…
「Actually, you were not the only one that became a hot topic on their thread. They were also talking about another female player, and she appears to be your friend here.」(Shougo)
Saying that, Shougo glanced at Ruka.
「Wait, Ruka became the topic too?」(Alice)
「Hm?」(Ruka)
She tilted her head and looked at me with a puzzled face.
Ahh~ She looks cute even when she’s confused!
「I became the topic because of Lynette-san, right? But what about Ruka? Why were they talking about her too?」(Alice)
「It’s because someone took a picture of your friend sleeping on your lap and shared it on the thread.」(Shougo)
「Aa!」(Alice)
I looked at Ruka. She then nodded at me.
「It must be the male player who scared you in the carriage.」(Alice)
「Yeah. No doubt about it.」(Ruka)
I lent Ruka my lap so that she could rest her head on it and sleep in the carriage on our way to the port town the other day. There was a male player sitting facing us. He must have secretly taken a picture of us.
「Shougo, I think we should report that thread and ask the admin to delete it.」(Shuu)
「Yeah, we can do that, but… Shuu, I never thought you would come up with that idea.」(Shougo)
「Huh? What do you mean?」(Shuu)
「I thought people like you would love that kind of thread.」(Shougo)
「Haha! Well, I might have joined them long ago if I knew that thread existed!」(Shuu)
「Hee…」(Shougo)
「…..」(Alice)
「…..」(Ruka)
「…..」(Gaul)
The four of us stared at Shuu with cold, disgusted eyes.
「ーN, no, no, no! That’s not what I want to say! ーAhem! What I mean is… That’s right! We can’t let those hyenas keep talking about innocent female players and expose their identity without their knowledge!」(Shuu)
「…Yeah, right. Whatever… Anyway, we will report that thread, but I doubt the admins would remove it since it’s not violating any rules and it doesn’t affect the game itself. Even if they delete it, I’m sure those hyenas will make another thread with a different name.」(Shougo)
「Hmm, you’re right. It will never end. It’s trickier than I thought.」(Shuu)
All this conversation made me realize. This is probably the reason why people were staring at us when we walked down the street earlier.
I see now…
It’s not harmful or anything, but knowing that strangers were talking about me and the fact that people were staring at me because of that made me feel uncomfortable.
I’m not a celebrity, but I wonder if this is what famous people feel like.
「So, what should we do now?」(Alice)
「For now, let’s wait for the ladies to finish lecturing Lynette. It’s gonna be long.」(Shougo)
「Right…」(Alice)
「Alice, I’m sleepy…」(Ruka)
Hearing that it would be long, Ruka looked at me and rubbed her eye.
She said she only slept for two hours last night. She looked sleepy.
「Do you want to log out?」(Alice)
「No… Lend me your lap…」(Ruka)
「Hahh… I told you sleeping here wouldn’t do any good.」(Alice)
「Please~」(Ruka)
She begged with a cute puppy eye.
I think she should log out and get some rest in the real world, but… I can’t resist her cuteness!
「Iーit can’t be helped… Come.」(Alice)
「Thank you, Alice~!」(Ruka)
I sat down on a bench by the wall. Ruka sat next to me and put her head on my lap.
「Uhyuu~! Alice-chan’s lap looks so comfortable! I want to sleep on it too!」(Shuu)
「ーHm!?」(Ruka)
「Hiiiiyー!!」(Shuu)
When Shuu made such a lame joke, Ruka glared at him with sharp, intimidating eyes as if saying, “This lap is mine!”
I stroked her head and giggled.
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