Chapter 94 A Lonely Person

(Mais PoV (Marias IRL name))

Im nervous Oda said while trembling. Miss Ichijouji suggested that we meet up after the battle, but were really scared of what shes going to tell us

I laughed to hide my feeling though, You get scared really easily, Oda.

Mai, your voice is shaking. He replied.

It cant be helped! I already get nervous from just talking to her, but what if she criticizes what we did!? How can I endure that!? Im about to puke right now

Oh, youre here already. Miss Ichijouji said as she arrived. We both turned around immediately when we heard her voice from behind us To think shed arrive at such a timing, Im sweating cold right now

Sorry for the trouble we caused! Both me and Oda said at the same time while bowing down to her.

Sorry for what? She asked us.

Eh? We were both confused. She wasnt angry? I was in a good mood because she called us, but I was sure it was to scold us.

Rather than that, you may have lost, but your surprise was still quite interesting, so Im going to listen to your requests. She told us.

Seriously!? We both exclaimed in unison once again. She didnt reply, but instead just tilted her head to the side, shes so cute Wait, stop! This is dangerous! I need to be more self-aware and behave naturally! I cant let her notice how much I stare at her!

So, is there anything you want me to do? She asked us as we stayed silent for a bit too long. She also tilted her head to the side again when she said this and I almost fainted from the cuteness. Is she even aware of how much destructive power she has?

Ah, right If its not too much trouble, it would be nice if you could come with me in a Verification. Oda asked her.

A verification? You mean the thing you do to learn about more details about the game? I dont know if Ill be very useful, but I dont mind it. Miss Ichijouji replied.

Thank you very much! Oda said while bowing That worm, we said wed play together again, but now he is skipping ahead? Im gonna burn him

What about you, Maria? Miss Ichijouji asked me.

Ah! Well What do I ask!? Should I just ask her to be friends with me!?

Hey hey, Maria, what are you going to ask her? Oda said with a particularly annoying tone.

Uhn Im so going to kill him later. He knows Im bad at this and he is making things worse!?

Werent you just going to ask to be friends? He whispered to me.

We-well, kinda I replied softly.

Is there a problem? Miss Ichijouji asked.

Its just I just want to to Oda! Youre in the way, leave first! I told him.

W-why!? He was clearly surprised.

Well, its just embarrassing. It would be troublesome if Oda was here

Is it hard to say it if Yuu is here? Miss Ichijouji asked.

M-Maria, you arent going to? Oda left the end of his question unfinished, but I knew what he meant.

No! Its hard to say it, but its not what youre thinking! I replied right away.

Meanwhile, miss Ichijouji tilted her head cutely at our exchange. She really needs to be more aware of how dangerous she is!

A-anyways, Oda, leave for a while! I told him.

I got it, I got it. He left while grinning This bastard of a pig! Whats up with this grin!?

So? What is your request? Miss Ichijouji asked me once Oda left.

Well Alright, I can do it! I really really want to be friends with her, but Im also worried, so So this is more important! It cant be helped! Im definitely not trying to fulfill my own desires! K-k-k-k-knees mine please on lay! I stuttered! I stuttered horribly and totally messed up my sentence! I must look like a total pervert now! Its over, she will surely go away from me now!

Sure, I dont mind it much She seemed to be a bit reluctant, but she was okay with it?

Re-really!? Its really alright!? I asked just to be sure.

Y-yeah She replied Calm down, me! Calm down! She is just getting more confused by this kind of eager question!

I took a deep breath, then slowly and calmly sat on the base of a tree and lightly tapped my lap. Miss Ichijouji followed suit and laid her head in it This is bad, Im going to have a nosebleed like this

I-is it okay if I caress your head? I asked her.

Go ahead. She replied.

Wow, this feels great! Even though were still in the game, Im feeling so good that my heart is about to explode Miss Ichijouji is truly a goddess

I suppose that, even though Yuu is your friend, this request really is something you wouldnt want him to be around for. Miss Ichijouji suddenly said.

I tried laughing a bit to hide my embarrassment, I-I was glad he was here at first, but it really was a bit too much for him to stay Also, miss Ichijouji seemed to be in a bad mood these past few days. I looked back at all the footages of her playing as the Genocider, and she was always smiling at those times And yet, she seemed to have no fun at all ever since she got close to the princess and her maid I wanted to do something more for her, and I couldnt have Yuu here to get in the way.

Could this be related to the fact youre always staring at me? Miss Ichijouji suddenly dropped a bomb.

Eh!? I could not make any other reply

Perhaps you werent aware of it yourself? She asked me No, I was plenty aware of it, I just never thought she noticed me doing my duty as her guardian

Well, about that Im sorry. I couldnt say much more than that now, could I?

Its alright, I didnt mind it. She forgave me! Yes! Its my victory!

This is not a situation where I should be messing around, what a shameful behavior Im displaying

I only noticed that you were the person that always stared at me recently by the way, but Why did you do it? She asked.

Well, thats because because I wanted to be friends. It was not a lie. I have always wanted to grow closer to her, but never knew how to approach her, so the gap between us just remained the same no matter how much time passed

Shouldnt you have requested that now, then? She asked after hearing my reply.

Well, it certainly was a good opportunity However, I still want to do more.

Why did you want to get along with me of all people? She asked this next.

Its just that Miss Ichijouji is a wonderful person. Sure, she may be a little Very dangerous, but that didnt change the essence of who she was, I just found out a new side to her through the game.

I decided I should try telling her a bit about myself to make things a bit clearer, You know, Im not that interested in the people in my surroundings. I thought it would be fine if people just thought of me as a blur that easily blended in with the background. I dont even remember the name of my classmates, I dont know the current trends, and even when Im talking to Oda, Ill just cut him off if he gets boring.

Miss Ichijouji didnt reply, so I continued, But while I felt like this, you were different. You were constantly observing your surroundings and trying to blend in with them I thought that was really cute of you. It was cute to see how she desperately observed and tried to imitate others even though she clearly wasnt interested in them at all

I wondered if this was because she was trying to hide how much she enjoyed playing as a Genocider, she wouldnt be able to live properly if she behaved like that in the real world after all Maybe this was a mechanism of self-defense of hers, or maybe this was a request of someone that was very important to her, as she wouldnt pay attention to other peoples opinion of her otherwise.

You took my interest when I realized that even though you didnt care for other people, you still paid quite a bit of attention to them. This strange contradiction attracted me. It was impressive even, to constantly look at those you didnt care about, And you know I also always felt extremely lonely And your presence, the feeling of having someone so similar yet so different nearby, it always soothed me, I always wanted to get closer to you.

She still hadnt replied, but that was alright. All that I needed, was for her to know, to know that I was paying attention. That even though I was this lonely, there was no way I could let her also be plagued by this horrible loneliness, I dont know what happened to you, and I wont ask but I realized you were in a bad mood recently. Because miss Ichijouji was looking extremely lonely too Because miss Ichijouji did not seem to be having fun while playing anymore

After a while of silence, she finally gave her first reply, Is that so?

It was. Thats why me and Oda put our utmost into getting you to smile again, to entertain you, to let you have fun again.

While I gently stroke her hair, my true intentions ended up coming out on their own, How was it? Forgetting whatever was bothering you for a while and to just enjoy playing with us?

Thank you for that. She answered.

Im glad you enjoyed it. The smile she gave me just now made all that work definitely worth it. Even a total otaku like me can make miss Ichijouji happy if I try. This wonderful feeling, Ill cherish it, Lets play again sometime.

Lets. With Yuu too of course. Why mention Yuu!? Why here and now!? Is the privilege of first friend that strong!?

While thinking of something silly like that, I spent some quiet time with miss Ichijouji.