CHAPTER 3

"I GOT A CALL FROM A GUESSER"

On the day after it was known that U-Ka, a classmate who always stays at the front, has a somewhat peculiar nature during the lunch break.

After finishing lunch, I saw from a distance when Hanafusa was surrounded by some close female friends, and they were all chatting about the latest trends they liked.

"Yuka-chan, do you have a favorite animal?"

"A favorite animal? Hmm, maybe rabbits. Their eyes and ears are incredibly cute, right?"

"I understand! Rabbits are indeed adorable!"

"What's your favorite movie?"

"I don't watch movies too often, so I'm not really sure... But I like 'Minions'."

"What kind of music do you listen to?"

"I often listen to Vocaloid music. I have a slightly otaku side, I guess."

"Hey, Yuka-chan, your voice is amazing. Why are you so good at singing? Is it your talent?"

"Well, that... I'm working hard to improve my singing, so I don't think I'm as skilled as Tsukiyoshi-san says. But thank you for complimenting me."

"Hehe, you're welcome."

"But honestly, I feel that singing is not my main talent... I'm taking vocal lessons now, and my teacher is really good at teaching! So, if people think I'm somewhat skilled in singing, it's probably because of her."

"...You're truly extraordinary. I don't know how to explain it, but you clearly have far greater talents than others, yet you remain humble. Are you a human too perfect?"

"Is that so? But I don't really like arrogant people, so maybe there's a reason behind it... My dad often tells me, 'Be a humble human,' so I always try not to be arrogant."

"Ah, a goddess... There's a goddess in this class!" said one of A's male friends, gathering around Hanafusa in awe. Hey, why suddenly speaking in Kansai dialect? This is Saitama, you know? The birthplace of Saitamalaria. Don't you, fellow Saitama residents like us, know that we can only eat grass around here?

As I pondered that, I sighed. Maybe I would also worship Hanafusa like he does if yesterday's incident hadn't happened... However, as someone who has just witnessed her true nature, I understand.

Currently, Hanafusa is wearing a thick mask like a Japanese dictionary and interacting with her classmates.

... Honestly, I'm really impressed by her ability to wear such a mask. She's so different from awkward people like me who can't master subtle words."

"Hahaha, about the goddess... Don't exaggerate it too much, as it's actually hard to play the role of a goddess," said Hanafusa with a gentle smile. It's clear that she is a good kid with a kind personality. She's not arrogant about her popularity or her beautiful appearance; she's a lovely girl.

However, that's not Hanafusa's true nature; it's just a disguise for her public face—actually, she's a wicked girl, wicked enough to kick a trash can when she's upset.

... Yet, even though she has such a true nature, the likelihood of it being revealed to others around her seems low in the future.

That's because the level of accuracy in the mask she wears is too high.

That's why, just like the incident yesterday—when "I saw her true nature"—won't happen again, people around her will never think that she wears a mask.

"Because of that, she's genuinely a frightening girl..." Honest impressions escaped from my mouth.

However, at that moment, Hanafusa suddenly looked in my direction.

Our gazes met, and my heart raced with various meanings. Then, after realizing that I was observing her, she gave a gentle smile. ... Although she smiled at her supporters, I felt something deeper than that.

"Sorry, I'll go to the restroom for a bit, okay?"

Hanafusa said that while standing up from her seat and walking towards the back door of the classroom. ... Then, in the middle of her way, as she passed by my desk, she suddenly—softly and sweetly—whispered.

"Please give me a little support♡"

"────"

Terrifying! What kind of affectionate language is that?

While pondering that, Hanafusa left through the back door of the classroom. ... In response, I reluctantly stood up and left the class. I chased after Hanafusa, who was walking quickly, and when she entered an empty classroom, I hesitantly followed.

Then, there she was...

"Hey... You, you stare too much. Well, Yuka-chan is the cutest girl in this school, right? So, it's natural for an otaku like you, who has never spoken to a girl, to be fascinated by Yuka-chan. But, can you hold back a bit?"

Someone who wasn't U-Ka, with their face hidden behind a thick mask, sat with folded legs in the empty classroom. It's no longer U-Ka wearing the mask to hide her personality; it seems to be her twin sister...

While thinking about it, I cautiously opened my mouth. The words reluctantly came out from my dry lips.

"You too. What did you mean earlier? You're really overdoing it with your cat-like appearance."

"Of course. But, I already told you yesterday. Yuka-chan is really good at pulling off a cat-like appearance."

"Yes, you did say that, but... when looking at it again, you're really overdoing it."

"Hmm, thanks for the praise. But, that kind of praise is still not enough for Yuka-chan, so praise her even more."

"Huh, I wasn't actually praising you, you know?"

Even though I reprimanded her, Hanafusa ignored me and just nodded, babbling on, "Yuka-chan is indeed really good at pulling off a cat-like appearance. Maybe she'll become an actress in the future, who knows."... She said she wasn't arrogant, but where does this nonsense come from?

"Actually, Yuka-chan already knows that she's a genius at acting, so there's no need for you to say it. But that's not important. What's more important is that Yuka-chan called Yoamiya-kun here as a warning... or in other words, please don't disturb Yuka-chan in other classes where there are other people, like earlier. That's all."

"Huh, not disturbing like earlier... I didn't disturb you at all, did I?"

"But Hime-chan said, 'There's a quiet guy who keeps staring over here since earlier'."

"............"

"Damn, that hurts. Are introverts like me not allowed to look at a girl too?"

When I felt crushed, Hanafusa looked at me with a bit of panic and continued.

"Actually, if Yoamiya-kun were just an ordinary classmate who didn't know my secret, you could look at Yuka-chan as much as you want. Receiving curious looks from ordinary people is my job. Besides, Yuka-chan is not someone who gets bothered by the gazes of unimportant people."

"Hey, did you just call me and my classmates 'unimportant people'?"

"But, Yoamiya-kun... you already know my secret, right? That's why, from now on, I want you to keep a proper distance from Yuka-chan. I don't want it to be revealed that there's a connection between Yuka-chan and you, and from there, Yuka-chan's true nature might also be revealed. So, please don't look at Yuka-chan too often or do things like that, okay?"

"............"

"Well, actually, the guys in our class get inspired by looking at Yuka-chan every day, so I thought it would be bad news for you," Hanafusa expressed her thoughts.

"You don't have to say it yourself."

Actually, it's true that Hanafusa is a magnet for us guys. Even before we knew she was U-Ka, she was already very popular among us...

But wait a minute... Ah, is that so? She realizes that she's really cute, and that's why she naturally looks down on others. Is she that kind of silly girl?

I thought that while sighing. Although she speaks in an illogical manner, there's no use complaining here. I informed Hanafusa.

"Alright, I understand. From now on, I'll do my best not to look at Hanafusa-san. Besides, seeing Hanafusa-san pretending to be a cat just makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Yoamiya-kun, even though you're a big fan of Yuka-chan, you're quite sharp with your words, aren't you? Aren't you happy to be able to talk to Yuka-chan more? You might even cry tears of joy, you know?"

"Who would cry like that?... Besides, it seems like you misunderstand; I don't like you or anything. I really like 'U-Ka, the adorable girl who is incredibly skilled in singing and gives sincere answers in interviews on the web and magazines'... So, I'm actually irritated at you for now, claiming that it was all just acting."

"Excessive cuteness brings excessive hatred, huh?"

Actually, it's hard to say that's wrong.

"People like me might feel that way... As a devoted fan of the true U-Ka, I feel deeply shaken and angry at Hanafusa now, like saying, 'What's up with this woman?!' A big part of my current feelings is probably also due to an exaggerated reaction from the shock of realizing that I've been deceived by her."

"Actually, how much did she lie about?"

"Hm? How much?"

"So, this... the content of the interviews she answered as U-Ka, was all of it a lie? We discussed it in the class earlier, she answered like that in U-Ka's interviews, right?"

"Yeah. I was inside Yuka-chan as the 'U-Ka' version of Mansaki, so when answering interviews, I... Also, when with my classmates, I put on the mask and wear it."

"So... When you said your favorite movie was 'Minions'?"

"That was a lie. It's actually 'The Bourne Identity'."

In my heart, I commented that it's a really cool spy movie! A great film, indeed! But unexpected! As I recalled the content of the interview, I continued my questions.

"You said that your singing ability was good thanks to vocal training, right?"

"Not a complete lie, but yeah, most of it is thanks to Yuka-chan's natural talent! Honestly, Yuka-chan has a natural talent that makes her good at singing without needing vocal training."

"You said your favorite animal was a rabbit?"

"Completely a lie. That was just to attract attention from guys. Actually, my favorite is a tiger! You know, tigers can take down prey that weighs ten times their body weight! Isn't that cool? I idolize tigers... I want to be like that..."

"You said your blood type is AB?"

"Lie. Actually, it's type B... Uh, don't let her hear that. But apart from the blood type, her height and weight are not lies at all. Yuka-chan has an amazing body proportion; she doesn't need to pretend."

"When asked about her strengths, she answered, 'If I have to say, it's singing, but it's still in the growth stage, so I don't have strengths that can be called strengths'?"

"That's right."

"Yeah, of course! Here's the translation in Indonesian:

"Clearly, that's a lie. Look. That's Yuka, right? Isn't it harder to find weaknesses than strengths?"

"...Where are her weaknesses then? When asked like that, she said, 'There are many, but I think the most difficult one is the difficulty in trying.'"

"Well, that's somewhat true. Yuka really dislikes making an effort. But honestly, she has no intention of changing that weakness... Because, even without trying, Yuka can still achieve everything. So, even though she's not good at making efforts, she has no difficulties at all."

"Ah, don't use harsh words like that, calling her a lying and arrogant girl!"

"Why suddenly insulting with such bad words!? Besides, you're also very annoying! Why do you remember so much about Yuka's interviews?"

"Of course, because I love her so much!"

"Uh... t, thank you, I guess?"

"I don't love you! I love U-Ka Manami, who is in the spotlight!"

"What do you mean by not me?"

Blushing slightly, Hanafusa, who looked awkward, said thank you and then angrily shouted after my words. If I've been listening to her talk all this time, what's up with this person... Indeed, I already knew since yesterday's incident, but anyway, her character is so different from U-Ka Manami!

"I really... love U-Ka so much..."

"So, thank you, I guess..."

"So, you mean not me..."

"...What should I actually do with these feelings? I'm glad to have a fan who loves U-Ka Manami so much, but why does she hate me so much...? Just because my blood type is B...?"

"Besides, that's the most shocking thing for me... Wait, what? But, wait a minute, are you... crying a little?"

"I'm not crying!"

"No, that's the way stubborn people talk when they're crying..."

I wiped the tears that were flowing roughly using the back of my hand. I felt so ashamed for crying over something like this. It was embarrassing, but the frustration I couldn't understand kept overflowing and couldn't be contained.

I didn't know how to express the feelings I was experiencing right now. Disappointment? Would that be enough? True, I felt disappointed in Hanafusa, but if I had to express it more accurately, it was more like a sense of loss.

The image of the 'perfect human U-Ka' that I had imagined was actually not there at all.

At the moment of realizing that, I felt so frustrated, even more so, I felt sad.

And that's probably why I was crying uncontrollably, just realizing that the girl I admired so deeply turned out to be nothing more than an unreal idol.

After thinking up to that point, I wiped away the tears that fell with the back of my hand again, and with a slightly awkward expression, I asked this question to Hanabusa.

"Wh-why did you lie like that...?"

"............"

Hearing my words, Hanafusa fell silent.

Then, after thinking about something for a while, she suddenly showed a very beautiful smile, looking at me. It wasn't a mocking smile, but a clear kindness. Seeing that, I inadvertently held my breath.

"I want to deceive fans like you."

"W-wait, do you really want to deceive fans, you...?"

"Ah, that's not the issue. It's not about deceiving and playing with the fans, you know? On the contrary, as the foremost fan of U-Ka, I want to deceive them... Err, oh no. I might be saying too much now. I shouldn't be saying things like this to you..."

Then, Hanafusa stopped her words and stood up from her seat with enthusiasm. After that, she cleared her throat with a small cough, as if indicating that the conversation was over.

"Anyway! From now on, you must not interact with Yuka-chan in Class 1-D at all! Don't try to talk to her, and avoid looking at her with forbidden glances. If you break the rule, I won't give you the demo recording. Do you understand?"

"...Yes."

"Yuka-sama, thank you for speaking to someone as insignificant as me... Please repeat that."

"Yuka-sama, with someone as insignificant as me... No, who said that?"

"Hahaha. You said part of it, right?"

With a smile, Hanafusa spoke like that and quickly left the empty classroom. Before leaving, she said, "I don't want it to look like we're going home together, so spend your time here and go back to class later." She was a woman who was selfish to that extent.

"...Ah, really... I feel so exhausted..."

Surprisingly, I didn't feel tired at all from being nervous beside her, my biggest fan. Actually, I really liked the foremost U-Ka, but I wasn't nervous at all.

Perhaps because I knew that the person I loved was different from the girl who was speaking now. ... I couldn't support her, I really couldn't support her true side... Of course, my support for the foremost U-Ka hasn't disappeared... but she, with blood type B, her favorite animal being a cheetah, and when she's angry, she kicks the side of a commercial trash box... It's quite difficult for me to support her...

Basically, I was quite amazed by the individual named Hanafusa Yuka, the beautiful girl in our class. But knowing the other side of her, my admiration was shattered in an instant...

"Geez, if you want to deceive, please deceive completely until the end..."

Such a whisper came out of my mouth and sounded lonely in the empty classroom. I truly envied my classmates who kept shouting, "Hanafusa-san is a goddess!"

But do you know that the person you admire with such gratitude is actually an incredible devil? What you are doing is not devotion to a goddess, but reverence to a devil. You won't care if one day you get hurt like me!