Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 5: Reunion
(Note: The character name has been changed from “Kaguya Luna” to “Hoshizuki Kaguya.” There are no changes to the story content. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.)
“We’ve met again, haven’t we?”
“…Yes.”
On the school rooftop, I was eating lunch alone with Himeji-san.
To explain how that happened, we need to go back a little in time.
◯ ●
That morning, I sat up in bed and looked at the clock.
“Let’s see… What time is it? Huh, it’s only 4 AM?”
Back when I was supporting my sisters, staying up all night was routine, and even when I slept, it was only for about 3 or 4 hours. I’d gotten used to short sleep.
“There’s still plenty of time before school. I’ll do some stretching, go for a run, get in some strength training, make breakfast—and hey, I’ll even make a bento! I’ve been too busy to do any of that, but now I can start getting my life back!”
After that, I got back into my usual fitness routine and cooked for myself for the first time in a while.
“Finally, sprinkle some minced chicken on the rice and… done. Protein, fat, and carbs all nicely balanced!”
The vibrant colors and nutritional value of the meal made me feel completely satisfied. It was a perfect breakfast and bento, if I do say so myself.
“I gotta replenish nutrients after a workout. Ahh, having time to eat a relaxing breakfast is the best! Still… I’ve got quite a bit of time left. If only I had my phone… With time like this, I could finally watch Hoshizuki Kaguya-chan’s stream again…”
Hoshizuki Kaguya-chan is a VTuber I’ve supported for a long time.
She’s been around since the early days of the VTuber scene, back when it wasn’t even well-known. She’s small, cute, has a princess-like avatar, and her sweet, adorable voice fits the image perfectly.
Her content is mostly gaming and chatting streams—just extremely cute and comforting. Watching her would always bring out my protective instincts.
While I endured constant mistreatment from my mother and sisters, Kaguya-chan’s streams and videos were my only source of comfort.
At first, her channel only had a few subscribers, including me. But in the few years I was too busy with work to watch, she’d exploded in popularity and become a super-popular VTuber with over a million subscribers.
“Well, if I can’t watch her, it can’t be helped… sigh.”
With nothing to do, I just sat there idly, letting time pass.
Well, I guess having time like this is valuable too, right?
◯ ●
Now, I was standing at the front of the classroom.
“I’ve transferred here from ○△ High School. I’m Sakasegawa Atsumu. Nice to meet you.”
To avoid any unnecessary trouble, it was decided I wouldn’t mention that I came from Yumekoshi Academy. Supposedly, this was the chairman’s idea.
“I can’t really see his face under those bangs, but he might be kinda hot.”
“No way, he’s more of a small and cute type.”
“Is that a guy? His voice is high.”
“Alright, alright, everyone, be nice to our new classmate. Let’s see… Ah, there’s an open seat next to Himeji.”
Himeji? That name sounds familiar…
“Ah!”
When I looked where the teacher pointed, I saw her—Himeji-san, the girl I’d just met yesterday.
“What’s the matter? Haha, I get it—you’re stunned by how beautiful Himeji is, huh?”
“Well… something like that.”
Actually, no—that’s not it at all.
Anyone would be surprised to see someone they just met at a completely new school.
Well, I won’t deny she’s beautiful.
I made my way to the assigned seat.
Along the way, a boy was sitting with his legs stretched into the aisle, grinning mischievously.
I instantly understood his intention—and without missing a beat, I stepped over his legs as if nothing had happened.
“Hey, you!”
“What’s wrong?”
“You trying to mess with me!?”
“Not at all. I just fixed those pants that were all torn up…”
“Huh!? What the hell is this!?”
“I added a tiger patch to the knee, and a bee to the thigh… Oh no, did you want a bear instead? Or maybe an elephant…?”
I’ve done some on-site adjustments to costumes during shoots before, and I even help design them sometimes. So, I’m decent at sewing.
I tried to go for a look inspired by this season’s GUGGI collection… Was that a mistake?
“They were ripped on purpose! It’s called distressing! Don’t fix them, damn it!”
“…Huh?”
So, stretching his leg out wasn’t a signal for me to mend his pants?
I’d missed the point entirely—it wasn’t even about the design.
“Pfft, Kongou just got totally owned.”
“Wait, those were ripped on purpose? That’s lame.”
“Those appliqués are so cute.”
“Honestly, it might be cutting-edge fashion…”
“The transfer student’s got some guts.”
“He did that in just a few seconds!?”
The boy—apparently named Kongou—was trembling in place.
“Um… Kongou-kun, sorry about that. I can redo them to make the distressing look more natural if you’d like?”
“Don’t bother! And you guys, stop staring!”
The classroom fell dead silent.
“Hey, Kongou, what’s all the fuss about?”
“…Tch.”
The teacher’s voice brought everything back to order.
Seems like Kongou-kun decided to let it go. Maybe he actually liked the design a bit?
Thinking that, I finally sat down in my assigned seat.
“So you go to this school too, Himeji-san. I guess we’re classmates now—looking forward to getting along.”
After taking my seat, I immediately spoke to Himeji-san.
“The transfer student’s talking to the Ice Queen.”
“Man, he’s dead.”
“Rumor has it no one’s ever talked to Himeji-san.”
“She probably thinks we’re not worth her time.”
The class grew even more restless than before.
(What’s going on? Was I not supposed to talk to her…?)
“Th-thank you… n-nice to… meet you…”
Himeji-san gave a small bow of her head.
(We were talking yesterday too, so this is totally normal, right?)
“Seriously?”
“The Ice Queen talked?!”
“Wait, that’s the first time I’ve heard her voice!”
“Eh, her voice is kinda cute?”
“Tch, what the hell is with that guy!”
Just talking to her caused that kind of reaction!?
What kind of presence is Himeji-san anyway!?
As for Himeji-san, though her expression remained unchanged, her face was completely red.
I had figured she was shy, but maybe she has a hard time speaking in front of others?
I should try talking to her again later when no one else is around.
◯ ●
“We meet again, huh.”
“…Yes.”
Up on the school rooftop, I was eating lunch alone with Himeji-san.
Thinking she might have a hard time talking in front of everyone, I invited her when lunch break began.
And then she brought me here.
The class had been whispering again at that moment, but why?
Isn’t it totally normal to invite a friend to eat lunch together?
“I thought we might never meet again, so I was really surprised to find we’re in the same school and same class!”
“…I-I was surprised too.”
“By the way, why do people call you the Ice Queen, Himeji-san?”
“T-That’s…!”
Her face turned bright red.
“It’s weird, right? You don’t seem like the Ice Queen at all. I thought maybe there’s some kind of reason behind it.”
I couldn’t believe someone so kind, who cried for my sake, would be called something like that.
“It’s… kind of an embarrassing story…”
With that, she started to speak hesitantly, bit by bit.
◯ ●
To summarize her story—
Himeji-san is extremely shy and has a hard time talking to people. She even described herself as socially awkward.
Even when people talk to her, she freezes up and can’t respond, which ends up looking like she’s ignoring them.
At first, some classmates did try talking to her, but eventually no one approached her anymore.
Then one day, rumors started—maybe she was the daughter of some high-class family, and that’s why she didn’t talk to “commoners” like the rest of them.
More rumors followed, and before long, she had been labeled the “Ice Queen.”
“I see…”
(Because she’s so beautiful too, people probably made up whatever story fit their assumptions.)
That was the conclusion I came to, based on what she said.
“Even if I wanted to clear it up… I can’t talk to people easily myself… So, I have a favor to ask, Sakasegawa-kun…!”
“What is it? You can ask me anything!”
“I… I want you to talk with me here during lunch…
Squeezing her eyes shut, she said it louder than anything she’d said before.
“…Huh?”
“Y-You don’t want to, right…? I’m sorry…”
She looked down, clearly dejected.
“No no! I’m just surprised by how easy your request was. Of course I will! I mean, we’re friends, right?”
“F-Friends…?”
“Wait… are we not?”
She looked dissatisfied for some reason.
Aren’t we friends?
“N-No… We are… friends.”
“R-Right!”
“…Muu.”
She puffed her cheeks out in frustration.
So cute. Maybe that’s just a habit of hers?
“Let’s talk a bunch with me first, and then work up to talking with the others, yeah? You talk a lot during your streams after all. I wonder why it’s different? I hope someday you’ll be able to talk like that in person too…”
“…! S-Stream? What are you… talking about…?”
“Um, you’re Vtuber Hoshizuki Kaguya, right?”
“W-Wha-wha-wha-wha-what—!? How do you know that…!?”
“You don’t remember the name V?”
“…!?!? Sakasegawa-kun… you’re V-san!?”
“Yep! Though, it’s actually pronounced Five, not V…”
Back then, I used the number five in my name—Go—and stylized it using the Roman numeral “V.”
Well, how you read it doesn’t really matter now.
“But how did you figure out that I’m… Hoshizuki Kaguya…?”
“Well, that’s because… oops.”
Glancing at the clock, I realized lunch break was about to end.
“How about we continue this after school? I’ve been wanting to do something like hang out after class!”
“S-Sure…! I… I want to talk more with you too, Sakasegawa-kun…”
“Then it’s settled!”
Just like that, I made plans to hang out with Himeji-san after school.