Even with chuunibyou, let's learn together!

Page 310

"I think you should talk to your friends to clear up the misunderstanding as soon as possible, to be honest."

"Hmm? It really is a mountain spirit. Kuzaki Shichi,"

Umaru looked puzzled, and couldn't help but waver: "Even you say that..."

Hayakawa's face was serious, and his eyes were extremely sincere: "The sooner the better. If it really doesn't work, I can go and help."

"Hayakawa..."

Xiaomai wiped away her tears, touched, shook her head, and smiled, saying, "No need, let me do it myself."

"Oh."

Hayakawa nodded: "Then hurry up."

Umaru assumed Hayakawa was just concerned about her: "Don't worry, I'll be quick."

So Umaru decided to find a time to confess to her friend who mistakenly thought she was the daughter of a rich family, and Hayakawa Kakeru very enthusiastically offered to help her whenever she needed it.

……

Upon entering the shopping street, Hayakawa was overwhelmed by the dazzling array of goods. The cold winter weather seemed to have no effect on the enthusiasm of those who came here, and the streets were bustling with people, creating a lively atmosphere.

"Wow, that's amazing..."

Hayakawa glanced at the shops next door expressionlessly and said, "I don't recognize any of the things inside."

"Maid cafes, figurine shops, merchandise stores, game item stores—which of these don't you recognize?"

Xiaomai said irritably, "Straighten your back a bit, don't let people know you're a newbie."

"oh oh."

Hayakawa straightened his hunched back weakly. He couldn't help it; he had no interest in anything here. He was already completely exhausted after just five minutes of walking around. His eyes searched for a place to sit, but Umaru seemed to be just getting excited and showed no intention of stopping to rest.

"Hey, which store are you going to? How far is it?"

Hayakawa couldn't help but say, "I'm a little tired."

"Oh, you're already tired after just a few steps? Did you stay up late studying again last night? I told you to go to bed early and get enough rest."

Umaru stopped in her tracks, her face darkening. "It's still a long way from here, on the other side of the street."

"Uh…"

Hayakawa felt even weaker and his whole body became frail.

His physical condition is not fixed and varies with the surrounding environment. If this were a street with cram schools or libraries, he could walk all day without feeling tired. But this is an otaku game street. With every step they take, Hayakawa feels as if his strength is being drained by the stone bricks under his feet, and he gets tired very quickly.

"I really can't do anything about you,"

Seeing Hayakawa's dejected appearance, Umaru scratched her head and said, "Let me take you to the game store next door first."

After saying that, he pulled Hayakawa to the nearest game merchandise store.

"Thank you for your great kindness."

Hayakawa perked up a bit, but as soon as he stepped into the shop, his brows furrowed, and his face darkened slightly when he saw the room full of game discs, DVDs, and accessories.

What a decadent world.

Chapter 488 Participating in the Competition

"Wow...it's been so long since I've been here,"

Umaru seemed quite happy, and with light steps, she quickly arrived at the dazzling array of shelves. Standing on tiptoe, she picked up one item in each hand and examined them for a long time before exclaiming in amazement, "Wow, so many new styles! Some of them I've never even seen before!"

Hayakawa silently walked over and looked at the games from the side. He stared at them for a long time but couldn't find any difference in the disc covers.

They all look pretty much the same.

"Huh? Age of Warplanes is getting a sequel? How come I only just found out? There's not a single mention on the official website. Is it a pirated version?"

"It's so expensive! The price is so high that you could buy the deluxe edition. Why is the simplified version so expensive?"

"What! It even comes with accessories and character cards! I have no choice but to buy it!"

Seeing that Umaru had been muttering to herself for a long time, and then pulled out her wallet like a madwoman, Hayakawa's face darkened instantly. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, which she couldn't control: "Stop it!"

"What?"

Umaru silently turned to look at him, her eyes devoid of any light.

"Hey you, don't forget what you brought me to this place for?"

Hayakawa sighed, "Don't go on a shopping spree here. If you run out of money later to buy what you want, I won't give you any."

"Ah, that was close! I almost got fooled!"

Umaru snapped out of her daze, as if branded with a hot iron, and abruptly released her grip, placing the games she had been holding back on the shelf. A pitiful, heartbroken look still lingered on her face: "But I still really want them! These are new releases… Please, God, can you send some money down right now so I can take all these games home?"

After saying that, she put her hands together above her head and prayed devoutly, muttering something like "God, please save me."

Even if someone is a god, no one would care if you bought games!

"hurry up!"

Hayakawa grabbed his hand and dragged him outside with all her might, while Umaru struggled with a crying face.

"No! At least let me see them one more time, let me touch them one more time. I'll never see them again."

Umaru reaches out in that direction with a sorrowful expression. Anyone who doesn't know her would think she's a pitiful mother who was forcibly separated from her son by a villain, and Hayakawa is naturally that villain.

"What happened? What's going on over there?"

"A cute girl was forcibly dragged away by a man with a fierce expression."

"Is he a suspicious person?"

"You're a suspicious person, right?"

“There should be management personnel on the street. Who can go and call them over?”

Hearing the whispers from the crowd around him, Hayakawa's face turned as black as charcoal. He quickly changed his grip on Umaru's arm to holding her hand, pretending to be intimate like a boyfriend and girlfriend. This calmed the restless crowd down. Otherwise, given Umaru's appearance, Hayakawa felt that some man would have jumped out to intervene.

When Hayakawa grabbed Umaru's hand, her face flushed red as she struggled just moments before, and she seemed to lose all ability to resist, letting Hayakawa control her body as they left the game store entrance.

"Seriously, what are you doing?"

Arriving at a secluded corner, Hayakawa turned around expressionlessly and questioned, "I was almost kidnapped just now, mistaken for a pervert. I came out with you to buy things, and you framed me like this. What do you want?"

"Excuse me…"

Umaru lowered her head and apologized softly, then muttered in a barely audible voice, "But you can't just grab my hand like that..."

"What did you say?"

Hayakawa didn't hear clearly, but his eyes still flashed fiercely.

“Nothing, nothing”

Umaru immediately turned her head away, changing the subject, "Oh, right, it's about time we went to the store I'm going to buy the game I want, let's go."

After saying that, she quickly left, leaving Hayakawa behind.

Hayakawa thought to himself, "Wasn't that you who was dawdling just now?" But he still followed behind her, walking deeper into the street.

Before long, the two arrived at a bustling place, but it wasn't a game store; instead, it was a huge stage with nearly a thousand people crowded around it, all looking towards the stage and waiting. The nearby benches were already full.

Nearby, a girl was cosplaying a popular character from a game. A lot of people were taking pictures of her with their cameras and microphones. The girl in the middle was dancing and making V pose in various ways, smiling and not shy at all.

"That's amazing!"

The girl who was secretly looking down couldn't help but exclaim that she was incredibly brave. If it were her being surrounded by so many boys taking pictures, she would probably be too scared to say a word, let alone pose.

"What's so great about it?"

Hayakawa stared blankly in that direction for a long time before slowly uttering, "Bitch."

"Shut up."

Umaru reached out and covered Hayakawa's mouth with her hand: "You're not allowed to make such a rude comment about someone you've just met."

"Why? It's precisely because they're strangers that I made that assessment. Because we don't know each other, we can be completely uninhibited."

Hayakawa removed his hand and said, "If it were someone I know well, I wouldn't have said that."

"But…"

Umaru opened her mouth as if to say something, but realized that although Hayakawa was arguing illogically, there was one thing she had to admit: some people are very polite to strangers, but they are not so polite to familiar or close people. Although this is a good thing, sometimes some casual attitudes and comments can easily hurt the other person.

For example, I act like a good girl in front of my classmates, but I'm a hamster girl in front of my brother. All I do all day is eat and sleep and order him around. Now I'm even secretly taking money out of his pocket to buy games. This is really not good.

"Well…"

Umaru felt inexplicably ashamed, thinking that her brother should still be at home doing housework, and that she had said she was going on a date with Hayakawa but actually came to buy games. That was too much.

"Where's the game store you mentioned?"

Hayakawa didn't notice Umaru's change in expression. He looked around but couldn't find any game stores. He looked at the girl with some confusion and asked, "Why can't I see any?"

Upon hearing this, Umaru looked at Hayakawa with a strange and complicated expression, her eyes filled with malice, calculation, and triumph, but without a trace of remorse.

Hayakawa frowned at her gaze, and Umaru pointed her hand in the air and said, "The game store is over there."

Hayakawa looked in the direction she pointed, but it wasn't a game store at all; it was the huge stage that had been surrounded by so many people.

"what?"

Hayakawa was stunned and about to say something when a host appeared on stage, holding a microphone and loudly announcing, "So, fans of Starship Troopers, welcome to this event!"

Chapter 489 Participating in the Competition 2

(V) "All fans, welcome to participate in this event!"

The host's voice echoed in the venue, and the fans in the audience cheered enthusiastically.

Hayakawa listened to the crowd for a long time and roughly understood what the event meant.

Fans of the game can participate in the official competition, which consists of three rounds. The final winner will receive access to the closed beta test of the new game, meaning they can play it ahead of everyone else. This is something that gamers would definitely want.

But that's not all. The problem is that this game is a couples' game, meaning that a man and a woman must participate together.

"..."

"Doma".

Hayakawa slowly turned his head and looked at the girl beside him expressionlessly. Now he finally understood why Umaru insisted on bringing him along to buy games. The excuse that it was dangerous for a girl to come out alone was just that. The real reason was that she wasn't there to buy games at all, but to participate in the event and win games. And he was undoubtedly the tool boyfriend.

"hey-hey"

Umaru smiled, clasped her hands together, and prayed to the morning, "Please."

"gone back."

She turned and left in the morning, her movements so fluid and without the slightest pause.

"Don't go! We're already here, what's wrong with helping me? Buying games with me is helping? Joining the game with me, is that not allowed?"

Umaru grabbed Hayakawa's hand and pouted, saying, "Please help me! We're neighbors, friends, and childhood sweethearts since elementary school. This is my lifelong request. If you help me this time, I promise I'll never bother you again."

It seems like you'll make this request several times a month throughout your life.

"Ugh…"

Hayakawa stared at Umaru for a long time before letting out a helpless sigh and slowly nodding reluctantly, saying, "Alright, just this once."

"Great"

Umaru cheered immediately, looking as elated as if she had already won the game.

Hayakawa watched from the side, puzzled. Wasn't it only by participating in the competition and winning that one could obtain the beta test qualification? Umaru's reaction made it seem like just participating in the competition was already a victory. Was it because she was very confident in me?

Hayakawa was naturally very confident in himself, but he didn't understand why Umaru was behaving this way towards him, so he asked directly, "What's with your reaction? Do you know what we're competing in?"

"I don't know, but someone on the official website leaked the competition rules before. It was said that if either the man or the woman advances to the next round, both of them will advance."

Umaru laughed and said, "Besides, what kind of competition is this? It's an official game competition, so the competition content is naturally related to the game. Of course, I'm very confident that I can easily win any game. You can just play casually on the side."

"..."

Okay, okay, so it turns out they weren't confident in me at all, but rather confident in their own gaming skills. They just treated me like a tool to participate in the game from beginning to end.

hateful…

Hayakawa didn't say anything because he knew he wasn't good at the game and didn't have the confidence to argue. He could only curse Umaru in his heart for making a mistake and losing the game.

……