This Happened in the Very First Class? (Continued)

It seemed... Katsuragi hadn't realized who I really was.

Yesterday, after all, he'd only paid attention to me because of Shizuku's charm.

At the thought, Airi Sakura let out a long breath of relief, though she also felt a faint hint of disappointment in her heart.

It wasn't disappointment in Keima Katsuragi, but in herself.

"Thanks for last night, Sakura."

Just then, Keima Katsuragi spoke to Airi Sakura, his eyes still fixed on his game.

"Huh? What are you thanking me for, Katsuragi?"

"You followed my account yesterday, Sakura, so I followed you back."

"Huh? Huh!"

Airi's eyes widened, surprise flashing in her blue irises.

"That blogger called Shizuku is you, right? I don't know much about that kind of thing, but you're really impressive, Sakura. You have so many followers."

Keima put down his handheld console and turned to look at Airi.

Volume One: Chapter Thirty-Two: Airi Sakura's Great Dilemma

"Huh? Huh!"

Airi stared at Keima in disbelief, even turning to face him.

Their eyes met for an instant, and Airi hurriedly looked away, embarrassed, her cheeks already bright red.

Katsuragi realized it was me?!

That couldn't be right!

I'd always done my best to keep my identity hidden...

Besides, my pictures online looked completely different from how I looked in real life.

And yet Katsuragi still recognized me?

Should I... deny it?

Airi quickly dismissed the thought.

If it had been anyone else, she would have denied it outright.

But since it was Keima Katsuragi, she decided to be honest with him.

"Um... but, Katsuragi... how did you recognize me?"

Airi asked softly.

"It's obvious. This person looks exactly like you, Airi."

Keima said.

"Huh?"

Airi froze.

He could tell just by looking?

No, that couldn't be...

But if that wasn't the reason, then there was no way Keima Katsuragi could have recognized her.

"They... look the same?"

"Yeah. You're really pretty, Sakura, and you have such distinctive hair and bright eyes. I recognized you at a glance. Besides, you wear rimless glasses in your photos, don't you?"

"Um..."

At Keima's words, Airi's face turned as red as a ripe apple.

It was the first time someone had called her pretty as Airi Sakura, rather than as Shizuku.

Katsuragi had noticed me too...

And I didn't dislike the way he looked at me...

It was completely different from the way other people looked at me...

Airi felt her body grow weak, as though she might slide right off her chair.

[Affection: 45%]

[Affection: 48%]

[Affection: 55%]

"Did I make you uncomfortable, Sakura?"

"N-no, not at all!"

Airi raised her voice by a fraction of a decibel and hurriedly waved her hands.

"You probably don't want anyone else to find out who you really are, right? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you so much..."

Airi nodded slightly, and Keima turned his attention back to his screen.

Airi pressed her lips together and glanced at Keima from the corner of her eye.

She parted her lips slightly, then closed them again, as though caught in an intense internal struggle.

After nearly a minute, Airi finally gathered what little courage she had and spoke in a voice so quiet that she could barely hear herself.

"Katsuragi... I read the guide you wrote. It was really good..."

Airi's voice nearly faded into the air. Keima was concentrating on his game and didn't seem to have heard her.

He didn't hear me...

"Thank you, Sakura."

"Huh?"

"Sakura, have you started getting interested in AVG games too?"

Keima's head turned toward Airi almost instantly.

"Huh? I-I don't know much about that kind of thing..."

"AVG stands for adventure game. Adventure games are a form of interactive storytelling centered on text and combined with multimedia elements like images and music. Players influence the story and its ending by entering commands or choosing options. The genre originated in 1977, and one of its branches combined with beautiful girls to become..."

Keima's eyes seemed to gleam with enthusiasm as he launched into an explanation for Airi.

Airi was a little bewildered, but she did her best to understand what Keima was saying as she watched him speak so earnestly.

"If you're going to get into them, Sakura, I'd recommend starting with Tokimeki Memorial. It's beginner-friendly and has a moderate difficulty level."

"Mm-hmm."

"The biggest advantage of these games is that you can play them alone, unlike other social activities where you might get bothered by all kinds of people."

Airi nodded a little more firmly.

She'd never played a game before, but this sort of thing didn't seem at odds with her personality.

After all, she wouldn't have to interact with anyone else...

If she got the chance, she could give it a try...

As Airi thought it over, Keima set his handheld console in front of her—not so she could play, but so he could explain the text and images on the screen.

Airi's attention was drawn to the character art.

S-so pretty!

Airi liked taking selfies, and before taking them, she always tried to make herself look as pretty as possible, especially by wearing lovely clothes.

But she'd never tried dressing up in the style of an anime character before.

Airi remembered a few beauty bloggers in a similar niche who sometimes dressed up as anime characters.

Was it called cosplay?

Those photoshoots were so beautiful!

Airi had wanted to do a similar photoshoot before, but she didn't know much about it, and she hadn't had the courage to take that step.

Maybe...

This was a chance for her to learn a little about it.

There were ten minutes left until morning classes ended.

The morning lessons were over, and the students had a short lunch break.

Students usually went to the cafeteria for lunch, returned to their dorms to rest for a while, and then continued with their afternoon classes.

Airi watched Keima from the corner of her eye, thinking about something very important.

Should she invite Keima Katsuragi to lunch?

Keima had helped her a lot yesterday. It might have seemed like a small thing to someone else, but to Airi it meant something completely different. And for reasons she couldn't quite explain, she felt she really ought to repay him. The trouble was, she had no social experience and didn't know what to do.

So during class, Airi had racked her brains over it.

During the break, she'd even searched her phone for a bunch of advice.

One thing she'd found was that idols sometimes repaid their fans by giving them signed photo prints...

As a gravure idol, Airi had seriously considered doing that.

Would a signed photo print of herself... actually be worth something?

But there was no way Airi could do it!

Never mind that printing the photos at the school print shop would give away her identity; she couldn't even imagine handing a photo of herself to someone.

I-I'd die of embarrassment...

What about giving him something else?

But they'd only been at school for a week. What kind of gift would be appropriate...?

After a long time searching and hesitating, Airi finally found a simple, reliable solution.

Treat him to a meal!

Volume One: Chapter Thirty-Three: Suzune Horikita: Incomprehensible

When Airi made up her mind to go with that plan, the corners of her lips even lifted slightly.

But soon, an even bigger problem arose.

She'd never treated anyone to a meal before.

During lunch breaks, Airi usually kept to herself and took her food back to her dorm to eat.

But...

What reason should she give?

Should she say, "Because you came shopping with me yesterday"?

Would that be enough?

Then maybe add, "And thank you for keeping my identity a secret"?

That sounded kind of forced too!

While Airi was agonizing over it, the dismissal bell suddenly rang.

Keima stood up from his seat, getting ready to ask Elsie to go eat with him.

"Kats..."

The name reached the tip of Airi's tongue, but she stopped herself.

She had never invited anyone to eat with her before.

She couldn't find the courage to speak...