Chapter 16

The promised time arrives, and I prepare the game before connecting the call.

[Yahho~. We just talked a little while ago, fufu~]

Rinka’s voice through the screen is as soft and soothing as ever, wrapping around me like a warm breeze.

Just hearing it makes all the fatigue from today melt away.

[Since it’s a special occasion, why don’t we do a video call today?]

“Eh? A video call…?”

What did she just say…? We usually stick to voice chat while gaming. Why the sudden change?

[Is that a no?]

“Not really, but…”

[Okay, then I’ll turn my camera on~]

I had no reason to refuse, so I hesitantly agreed. The screen flickered for a moment before her image appeared.

“Here she comes…—wait, huh!?”

My eyes widened in shock.

The Rinka on screen looked completely different from the graceful, elegant princess she was at school. She was wearing a sheer pink negligee. The way it draped over her soft silhouette blended almost too well with her gentle aura, making it seriously hard to look at her directly.

[Kazuya-kun, what’s wrong?]

Rinka tilted her head innocently.

“…No, it’s nothing.”

I hastily averted my gaze, trying to act natural, but my heart was pounding so loudly it was deafening.

[Okay, now you turn your camera on too, Kazuya-kun.]

“Eh, me too…?”

[Of course. I don’t want to be the only one being watched.]

With that logic, I had no way to refuse.

Reluctantly, I switched to video as well, and my reflection appeared on screen—just me in my plain pajamas. I had never done this before, and seeing myself on screen felt strangely uncomfortable.

[Alright, once we’ve got our equipment ready, let’s start~]

“Y-yeah!!”

Ignoring my unease, the farming session began.

Normally, grinding events is something I can do on autopilot, completely zoned out. But this time, there’s no way that’s happening.

Every time Rinka moved on screen, the sheer fabric of her negligee swayed. And with it, glimpses of things I shouldn’t be seeing flickered at the edge of my vision. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t ignore it, and my hands kept slipping.

[Kazuya-kun, aren’t you moving a bit slow?]

Rinka casually pointed it out.

“N-no, my hand just slipped a little.”

I tried to play it off, but inside, I was completely panicking.

[Hmm? Well, whatever… Anyway, enemies incoming.]

Her calm voice pulled me back to reality, and I forced myself to focus on the game… but—

It was useless. My gaze kept drifting toward the edge of the screen.

[…You’re totally distracted, Kazuya-kun.]

The moment I heard her sigh, I straightened up.

“S-sorry!!”

[At this rate, we’re being inefficient. Focus properly.]

“Y-yeah, I know.”

Fine. If it’s come to this, I’ll just cover Rinka’s video feed with the window of the BGM site I have open.

Alright. Now I should finally be able to concentrate.

Once we finished grinding the event, Rinka stretched lightly.

[Phew… Finally done~ Good work~]

“Y-yeah… Good work…”

I was exhausted.

What was this? Of course, the repetitive grinding took a toll, but playing in such an unfamiliar situation had completely drained me.

[By the way, Kazuya-kun, weren’t you staring at me the whole time during the game?]

S-she noticed!?

Rinka smiled teasingly as she spoke, making my heart skip a beat.

“I-I-I wasn’t staring!!”

I desperately denied it, but she just chuckled mischievously.

[Really? But your gameplay seemed a little sloppy today~]

“W-well, it was just a grinding session, so…”

This is bad. She’s seen right through me.

With Rinka grinning at me, all I could do was keep making excuses.

[Oh yeah, also this afternoon, when you were helping me put up the bulletin board after school, you totally tried to peek under my skirt, didn’t you?]

Rinka giggled as she said it, and on instinct, I blurted out—

“I didn’t look!”

…Even though I totally did. But there was no way I could admit that.

[Ehh, really? But you somehow noticed I wasn’t wearing black tights today and had on knee-high socks instead, didn’t you?]

“I-I didn’t notice…”

I scrambled for a response, but Rinka just tilted her head playfully.

[Hmm, I see~]

Her voice was dripping with amusement, making it painfully obvious she saw right through me. The expression on her face through the screen all but said she knew everything, and it was frustrating beyond words.

“…I really didn’t see anything.”

[I’m not mad or anything. But next time, you should be more subtle about it.]

Just as I weakly tried to defend myself, Rinka playfully winked at me through the camera, sealing my fate.

“I’m telling you, I wasn’t looking!!”

I denied it again with everything I had, but Rinka’s smirk never wavered.

[You’re protesting so much it’s making me want to tease you even more~]

“Huh?”

Without warning, Rinka leaned closer to the camera, deliberately shifting so something bounced into view.

“W-whoa!!!”

I immediately shut my eyes and took a deep breath to steady myself, but at that exact moment, her video feed froze.

“Eh? Did it freeze?”

I moved my mouse to check my computer, but there were no issues on my end.

It looked like Rinka’s PC had crashed.

Just as I considered waiting a bit, my phone vibrated with a message from Rinka.

[My PC broke… what should I do (crying)]

The message came with a crying emoji, making me sigh without thinking.

“That’s what you get for teasing me.” I muttered, picturing Rinka flustered on the other side of the screen.