Ranobe Mo Ore Mo Sukina Gyaru - Volume 1 Chapter 7.1

Gal and MiniMon 1

“Hey, Yoda, do you play MiniMon?”

A few days after walking to school with Tsumakawa. During the break of the fifth period.

Just like before, while my male friend went to the restroom, I was reading a light novel alone… then suddenly, Tsumakawa-san started talking to me.

By the way, MiniMon, formally called “Minit Monsters,” is a game where players capture and battle with cute adorable monsters.

Although not as much as with light novels, I do like games to some extent, so I answered her a bit puzzled but replied like this.

“I played the one that came out last month until I reached the Hall of Fame…”

“No way, you defeated ‘Genichiro of the Blue’?!”

“Yeah… As the rumors said, he was the only one with an oddly high difficulty! I finally managed to rip the badge off his chest after retrying about a dozen times… Honestly, when I won, I was almost in tears. I was like, ‘I won, aaahhh!’ while sniffling.”

“He’s seriously that strong, huh? Well, there’s a favor I want to ask you—because I just can’t beat Gen-chan, would you play MiniMon with me tonight?”

“Eh, I refuse.”

“Why do you always reject things like this without even thinking? Take a moment to consider it. Seriously, at least pretend to think about it. It’s not like I wouldn’t be hurt, you know?”

While wearing an annoyed expression, Tsumakawa said this while poking my shoulder.

…I’m sorry for her, but I can’t just happily accept Tsumakawa’s invitation just because she’s a bit kind to me as a gal!

Thinking that inwardly, I deliberately changed the topic, asking her.

“By the way, Tsumakawa, you’re not only into light novels, but you also play games?”

“Well, I don’t play games that much. But I really love MiniMon, so that’s the only one I play. …When I read SAO, I sometimes think about trying virtual reality someday. Metaverse, you know? If that’s like SAO with death games, it sounds fun!”

“That would be bad, seriously. Death games started in the metaverse… People playing the metaverse are seeking healing from the tough real world, so dDon’t lock them up in the cyber world for a death game! Are you a demon?”

” ‘Welcome, players of the Metaverse. From now on, you will participate in a death game with the aim of clearing it.’ “

“No way? Seriously, it started? Just a while ago, I was just playing ping-pong with animal avatars!”

“If you lose in a ping-pong match against a CPU, electric current flows from the electromagnetic pulse in your VR headset, frying the loser’s brain.”

“They can’t sell dangerous stuff like that on Amazon, can they?”

“Hehe, so what will you do? Will you aim to clear the metaverse together with me?”

“Please spare me. I can’t become Kirito-kun!”

As I said that, Tsumakawa laughed cheerfully and said, ‘Well, the metaverse doesn’t really matter,’ and then she shifted the conversation back to its original place, about whether or not we would play MiniMon together tonight.

“Yoda, which version of MiniMon did you buy, Opal or Amethyst?”

“I was torn between the opal and the amethyst, but I bought the opal…”

“I see. By the way, I chose Amethyst. If Yoda hadn’t completed the MiniMon Encyclopedia, I think I could have been of help.”

” ….. “

“So, what do you say? Shall we play together online tonight?”

“…alright.”

“Hehe. You could’ve just said so from the start, you obstinate otaku.”

“Tsumakawa-san, aren’t you too good at persuading obstinate otakus?”

Although I’ve been careful not to get too involved with Tsumakawa, why are events with her so unavoidable?

Could it be that she has passed the Level 1 Otaku Handling Certification?

If that’s the case, it would make sense that she can easily handle unpredictable goods like obstinate otakus, who could explode at any moment…

***

With this and that, time passed, and it became evening today.

It was a little after 6 pm——

『Sorry, Yoda.』

『I’m running late with work, so it looks like I won’t be able to play the game until later tonight.』

『As an apology, I’ll send you a picture of some ‘ita-nails’ (decorative, anime-themed nails) I had done before!』

With such a message from Tsumakawa, a certain photo was sent through LINE.

When I opened it, there was Tsumakawa, smiling brightly, showing off her nails with intricately drawn characters from various light novels on the tips of her fingers.

By the way, a few of the characters depicted included Haruhi Suzumiya, Sena Kashiwazaki, Koyomi Araragi, Chiaki Minami, Minori Kushieda, Isana Tachibana, and Akane Hayasaka—just by looking at the nail art, I could easily discern her favorite characters.

『Whoa, what’s this… Isn’t this incredibly amazing? Can you really do stuff like this with nails?』

『Right?!』

『This is seriously awesome!』

『There’s a shop in Akihabara that does stuff like this, and that’s where I got it done.』『The ita-nails were super fun!』

『I see. Just like ‘itasha’ (decorative, anime-themed cars), they call drawing ‘moe’ characters on your nails ‘ita-nails’… This is exactly the kind of culture suited for someone like you, Tsumakawa, who is both a ‘gyaru’ and an ‘otaku.』

『No way!』『Isn’t it like the world revolves around me after all?』

『I know I brought it up, but don’t get too carried away.』

『lol WWwww』『Hey, Yoda, how about doing it together next time?』『Let’s both get ita-nails!』

『Uh, well… I cry just from stubbing my toe, so I’m a bit scared of anything painful…』

『Even though it’s called ita-nails, there’s no actual pain involved!』『Don’t try to sidestep the issue with a lame joke just because you don’t want to get your nails done.』

(TN: Ita-nail, ita (痛)= Pain/painful.)

『Same to you—could you not see through my attempt to decline with a joke?』

『Okay then, I’ll make a reservation at the shop here for next time.』

『If you try to escape, I’ll give you an ‘ita-punch’!』

『What on earth is an ‘ita-punch’?』

『Let me explain!』『Ita-punch is…』『It’s a punch that isn’t painful, delivered gently to the shoulder with the hand that has the ita-nails!!』

『So it’s not painful despite the name? …Guess you’re still kind-hearted at heart, you gal.』

『Wait!』『Praising me won’t get you anything, just so you know.』

『…then, how about I give you money or something next time?』

『That’s so overly generous it’s worrying—stop it!』

After exchanging such messages on LINE with Tsumakawa, a few hours later, around the time it was getting past 9 pm, I received a LINE call from her.

I was in my room, so I answered it. Then, her voice, sounding less energetic than usual, came through my wireless earphones.

『Yahoo. I told you on LINE, but sorry for being late… I’m just super tired from my modeling job. Yoda, comfort me, like, ‘yosh-yosh.’』

“…Wait, are you trying to be an office worker on your way home from work? Also, how do I even do ‘yosh-yosh’ over the phone?”

『Just whisper ‘yosh-yosh’ to your phone. Come on, say it quickly.』

“No way… it’s impossible for an otaku like me to say ‘yosh-yosh’ to a gal like Tsumakawa.”

『Are you really not going to comfort me with ‘yosh-yosh’ after such a tiring day at work? Aren’t you supposed to be my boyfriend? Be more aware of your boyfriend’s duties!』

“First of all, I have no memory of becoming a boyfriend’ thing you’re talking about!?! Just to confirm, Tsumakawa, I am not your boyfriend, and you are not my girlfriend!”

『Wha are you talking about? …Oh, right. Yoda, you’re not my boyfriend yet… I was confused because I was too tired from work. Sorry.』

“Even if you’re tired from work, would you really have that kind of confusion?”

『It’s not that, Yoda. You’re my virtual boyfriend, right?』

“Huh? Virtual boyfriend… What is that… an evolution of a ‘boyfriend’? Are there virtual boyfriend evolution lines like Pokémon?”

『Yep, ahahah!』

Tsumakawa said that with a chuckle and a slightly playful tone.

Through my wireless earphones, Tsumakawa’s voice seemed to have regained some energy.

***

TN: The phrase “よしよし” (yoshi yoshi) is a comforting, soothing expression in Japanese that’s often used while patting someone on the back or head.