Chapter 63: Stalker, Sakura Airi
Sakura Airi had actually gone out very early today; she had woken up and started waiting even earlier than Shiina Hiyori and Katsuragi Keima. To avoid drawing attention, she had specifically made slight changes to her appearance today: she took off her glasses and changed her hairstyle, looking like a completely different person from her usual self.
On the way to the cafe where Keima and Hiyori were headed, Airi followed the two of them "stealthily" the entire way. However, she didn't realize at all that her behavior was now indistinguishable from that of a stalker.
Moreover, she wasn't hiding her presence very well.
"Hey, hey, what is that girl doing?"
"Is she peeping?"
"She's quite cute... but why does she look so suspicious?" Passersby whispered and discussed among themselves.
Airi's attention was entirely on Keima; she didn't notice the gazes of others at all. In a sense, her flaw of extreme social anxiety had been drowned out at this moment.
However, she failed to notice another person behind her: Kamuro Masumi.
At this moment, Kamuro looked at Airi's back, feeling utterly confused.
'What's the situation? Is this girl also stalking Katsuragi Keima?
But... what's with this behavior pattern that's practically begging to be exposed? It's too... too conspicuous!'
Kamuro realized that Airi was a total amateur. Not only that, but because Airi's actions were drawing so much unnecessary attention, Kamuro's own tracking would be affected.
'Who is this person?'
Judging from Sakayanagi Arisu's reaction yesterday, Keima seemed to possess strength far exceeding that of an average student.
'Could it be that this red-haired girl was actually arranged by Keima?'
Perhaps he intentionally let this clumsy girl follow him to indirectly prevent others from stalking him.
'This guy... really isn't ordinary.'
Kamuro narrowed her eyes and stopped her pace. She could only temporarily halt her tracking plan.
Up ahead, Keima was somewhat baffled.
'What is Sakura Airi trying to do?'
He had, of course, noticed Airi's presence behind him. To be honest, it was hard not to notice her. Her appearance was completely unexpected.
'Why is she following me like a perverted stalker? And even if you're stalking, can't you at least try to disguise it! Does she think taking off her glasses and changing her hair counts as a transformation?'
Come to think of it, he had indeed said something similar yesterday...
'I can't let Airi keep following me! Right now is my time with Shiina Hiyori; if the two "lines" get tangled, it could lead to a disastrous event where favorability drops.'
Weekend one-on-one time was fundamentally different from the usual study sessions.
'I must prevent that from happening!'
Keima's brain worked at high speed as he reached into his pocket, his fingers nimbly typing. He had long since mastered the ability to touch-type anywhere, at any time.
"Eh?" Hiyori also seemed to notice something unusual behind them. Just as she was about to turn her head—
"Hiyori, how do you feel about playing games?" Keima spoke immediately, forcibly shifting Hiyori's attention back to him.
"It's great, a very novel experience."
"In that case, I have a few more games with puzzle and reasoning elements to recommend to you." Keima then began introducing various games to Hiyori.
In Airi's eyes, Keima and Hiyori seemed to be chatting quite intimately.
'They look... very happy?
No, that's not right! Hiyori said before that she had questions about games to ask Keima-kun, so it's normal for them to chat. But... will they move on to other topics later?'
Just as Airi was feeling incredibly anxious, Keima and Hiyori walked into the cafe and found a place to sit. Although it was the weekend, the cafe wasn't very crowded at this time.
Airi chose the farthest seat to sit in—but she quickly discovered that from there, she couldn't see Keima or Hiyori. She promptly stood up and changed seats. From this angle, she could get a better view of Keima.
"Customer, would you like something to drink?"
While Airi was fully concentrated on her peeping, a waiter walked up to her.
"I, ah, I, I..." The waiter's words forcibly pulled Airi's thoughts back to reality, and she reverted to her previous self. "I-I-I-I-I..."
Airi's face turned beet-red. All her previous "growth" was limited to being in front of Keima.
"P-Please... please give me a latte..." Airi's breathing quickened as she forced the words out of her mouth with all her might.
"Certainly, customer. Please wait a moment." The waiter left quickly.
She hurriedly turned her gaze back to Keima and Hiyori. At this moment, the two were discussing games. Hiyori was sharing her gaming experiences from this period very seriously, unaware of the strangeness coming from Airi's direction.
Keima forced himself not to look toward Airi.
'But that gaze is just too obvious! Airi is staring straight at us.
At least try to pretend a little...'
Keima felt helpless in his heart, only able to pray that the person who could change everything would arrive soon. Right now, only she could help.
Keima and Hiyori kept talking about games. For Hiyori, it had been a long time since she had chatted so freely with someone—no, it should be said she had never done so. Keima spoke eloquently not just about problems encountered in games or feelings about playing them, but even about gaming history and lore. This was information that required a lot of effort to collect.
Although the content wasn't about novels, Hiyori felt the essence was the same: they were both captivating stories. Moreover, among the games Keima recommended, there were quite a few easter eggs referring to famous mystery novels. The feeling of sharing the easter eggs she found was truly wonderful.
Speaking of which... she had actually been preparing for an occasion like today.
"Keima-kun, thank you for your hard work today. You've told me so much; I've benefited greatly."
"It's no trouble. I rarely encounter friends I can talk to so openly."
"..." Hiyori repeated the word "friend," and then, as if making a decision, she pulled several books from her school bag.
In her bag, she carried many of her own private readings for the reason: "When a person I can talk to about similar hobbies appears, I'll lend them to him." Since she hadn't met a kindred spirit before, these books had been sitting in her bag. Until now.
"Keima-kun, these are novels I like very much." When Hiyori took out the books, her gaze locked onto Keima. "These are all my personal items. I thought if one day someone appeared with whom I could talk about similar interests, I would lend them the books. That's why I carry them around. At first, it was one book, but the number gradually increased before I found someone to lend them to."
Keima looked at the books Hiyori took out, feeling slightly surprised. Was she even more special than the "literary girls" in games?
"Please don't be polite; you can take whichever one you like!" Hiyori looked at Keima, her eyes full of expectation.
Further away, Airi's gaze was still fixed on them.
'It looks like Hiyori-san is giving something to Keima-kun! I'm so, so curious!!! I really want to know what they're saying! Will Keima-kun accept Hiyori-san's gift? Should I change seats again?'
Keima was currently thinking. If he accepted Hiyori's gift, it was very likely to lower Airi's favorability. Accepting gifts or confessions should absolutely not be seen by another conquest target! But if he refused, Hiyori's favorability might drop. This was why Keima had previously tried to avoid "multi-threading" as much as possible. He hadn't expected Airi to stalk them today. This was an unforeseen situation.
'However, if you think this is enough to stump me, the God of Conquest, then you are being too delusional!'
"I'm sorry, Hiyori, I don't plan on taking any."
"Is that so..." Hiyori's eyes lowered slightly.
"I previously thought that books were the least efficient medium; acquiring information is too slow, and stories lack a sense of immersion. I read some novels before, but only to better clear games—" Keima's expression was very serious.
"I can understand Keima-kun's thoughts... everyone thinks differently..." Hiyori expressed understanding politely, but Keima knew she was surely feeling a bit disappointed. This was his chance to strike!
"—But lately, my thinking has changed."
"Eh?" Hiyori looked up, her purple eyes projecting a curious gaze.
"After meeting you, Hiyori, I realized we might be people with similar personalities. You chose to learn about games, so naturally, I should also settle down and try reading." Keima's face broke into a smile. "Because of you, Hiyori-san, I've tasted the feeling of reading. Although in my heart I still feel books are inferior to games in most aspects, there are things within them that cannot be replaced. When I'm tired of games, I go and read—the reason it's inconvenient to borrow your books is that I've already borrowed these specific books from the library! I haven't returned them yet!"
After Keima finished, he added another sentence: "I've also read the novels you recommended to Elsie before."
"I see! You've read them all, Keima-kun?" There seemed to be a hint of pleasant surprise in her words, and Hiyori's eyes seemed to flash with light.
'Keima-kun has actually read all these books? Moreover... Did Keima-kun go and read these books because of me?'
A feeling called happiness gradually emerged in Hiyori's heart.
"Yes. The plot of this book is full of ups and downs, the ending took me by surprise; the writing style of this one is very delicate..." Keima listed the characteristics of all those books.
In a sense, he was telling the absolute truth. He had indeed read all these books—to clear certain games, of course. And since he figured Hiyori's most frequent "spawn point" was the library, he had left many borrowing records there. Today, it certainly came in handy.
"These books are my favorites too!
Keima-kun... our hobbies are very similar!" Hiyori clapped her hands together happily and laughed; her quiet smile was as moving as an angel's.
"But Hiyori, if you have other novel recommendations later, you must tell me! I'll definitely borrow them from you then!"
"Mm, definitely!"
Hiyori didn't lend out the books today. But she was even happier. It was a sense of validation—that the things she cherished were also valued by someone else. In her heart, she felt more and more that she and Keima got along. They were... kindred spirits.
'It's truly great to know Keima-kun.'
[Name: Shiina Hiyori] [Favorability: 37] [Favorability: 45] [Favorability: 50]
"Keima-kun didn't accept the things Hiyori-san was giving?" On the other side, Airi watched all this from afar, feeling a bit puzzled; she couldn't hear their conversation. For some reason, she felt a sense of relief instead.
At that moment, the cafe door was pushed open. The person Keima had been longing for finally arrived.
Elsie.
Though she was an unreliable demon, the only one Keima could rely on right now was Elsie. After all, only Elsie knew the so-called conquest plan. So, on the way, Keima had sent a message to her. Because he was in a hurry, he only had time to send the most important information:
"Conquering Shiina, cafe, distract Sakura."
Keima figured that no matter how poorly Elsie's brain functioned, she should be able to understand that line. Sure enough, Elsie arrived at the cafe. Next, it would be up to her to find a way to quietly lead Sakura Airi away...
Keima looked at Elsie. Her face wore a confident smile that said, "Leave it to me."
This smile made Keima feel very uneasy.
"Airi, you're here! What a coincidence!"
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