Calling It '230' Is Its Name (1)
Ninomae Hitomi opened her eyes.
...and her eyes met.
"...Since when have you been staring at me?"
"It's not been long."
They were in the same bed, and it was Han Seoyeon, who had pulled her close, staring at Hitomi from close up.
Actually, Seoyeon herself didn't know exactly how long she had been staring at that face. After all, she hadn't looked at the clock even once during that time.
There was no thought of even turning her eyes away a little.
But the sight of Hitomi sleeping so soundly was so lovable that it felt like an incredibly short time in a sensory way. So, Seoyeon told herself it wasn't a lie.
"You didn't say anything weird or anything while sleeping, right?"
"You only made cute little snoring sounds, so you can rest assured."
Hitomi suddenly asked this, perhaps feeling uneasy. Even her appearance was so cute that Seoyeon kissed her forehead and then stroked her hair to reassure her.
Hitomi tried to burrow deeper into her embrace with a rumbling sound, but... realizing she was already being hugged to her limit, she quickly gave up.
Of course, the phrase "there is a limit to hugging people" would normally sound odd, but in Hitomi's case, it was a bit exceptional. After all, the cushion that was blocking them was proudly showing its presence.
From a completely frontal view, it would be hard to hug her perfectly, so at times like this, her chest couldn't be more exasperating.
According to Senjoji Chiyo's testimony, on the other hand, being hugged by Hitomi would be heaven.
Well, it was a worry that was hard to empathize with from others' perspectives. Even expanding the range to foreign countries, people like this were not common.
'Still, the maid might understand...'
Then, at one moment, the image of Momomomo Chisa crossed her mind. She was also a possessor of considerable size.
No matter what, she wasn't as much as Hitomi, and her build was much larger than Hitomi's, so the actual difference would be even more noticeable.
Of course, even setting that aside, the sight of her asking for advice from that quarrelsome maid was something that couldn't be imagined at all. She knew it was an improper thought, but it was the truth.
"With a size reduction for the main stream due to the size of the maid, it's like a joke!"
Thinking of this very insulting—though a clear imagination in her mind—Hitomi looked down at her own chest.
...and only then realized that she was naked.
Thinking about it, she didn't remember putting on clothes after the relationship yesterday. Probably, she had fallen asleep in that state.
Compared to that, the relatively fresh feeling of her body was thanks to Han Seoyeon purifying her with prayer. Of course, even so, it was a matter of feeling, so she would have to wash up, but for now.
However, right now, instead of getting up, Hitomi was wrapping her arms around Seoye'son's waist and tightly hugging her.
Seoyeon smiled warmly at this childish behavior and pressed her forehead against Hitomi's.
"Yes. Can we stay like this a little longer? There's still a lot of time until checkout."
"Uh... No. I don't dislike that, but it's not that."
However, Hitomi shook her head from side to side. At first, Seoyeon thought it was just forehead rubbing intimacy, but upon hearing her next words, she looked at her with a puzzled gaze.
"...My waist is hurting, so it seems like Sion should wash me."
"Hmm."
It seemed that the current action wasn't to just lie down more, but to express the desire to be carried to the bathroom.
"If I treat you... Ah."
If it was hard to move, Seoyeon could fix it well enough. That's why she said that, but upon seeing Hitomi's eyes, she gave a bitter smile.
Of course. Hitomi couldn't not know that Seoyeon could do that.
No, more than that, even after a fierce night, fundamentally Hitomi was a True Ancestor. Her body wouldn't be ruined to the point where she couldn't even get up after sleeping.
... Seoyeon had also experienced that 2-3 days in a row wasn't enough to feel okay.
"Yes. I see. Then, shall we go to the bathroom together?"
If that's the case, Hitomi's intention was obvious. When Seoyeon gave her the answer she wanted, Hitomi smiled shyly, avoiding her eyes but her mouth was giggling.
She turned her head away late to hide her face, but her ears were clearly red. Both of them knew that bathing wouldn't end with just bathing.
"Che, checkout is still far away... right?"
"Yes, that's what I said."
Seoyeon then smiled brightly and lifted the lovable lady in her arms like a princess.
×
So.
The woman with glossy black hair tied high up, with a wild appearance, muttered.
"Meaning you went to a foreign country, ate only rice, and only did dumplings."
"Cough?! W-why is my speech like that?!"
Upon this direct statement, Hitomi's latte she was drinking went up her nose, and she coughed repeatedly.
"Th-that's not entirely true. I did some sightseeing and attended the Apostle meeting..."
"But if you look at the ratio, then..."
"Stop. You're not supposed to say that to a girl, Mar."
And right after, someone punished the woman with the fierce eyes. Another woman sitting at the table pressed the back of her head with a heavy-looking paper bag.
"Ah, Kuroyuki-san."
She was also a person Hitomi knew.
Kuroyuki Sui. The owner of this cafe, former actress, and a woman who was somewhat like Hitomi's boss at work.
Kuroyuki Sui placed the paper bag on the table with her usual expressionless face, and Mar... Marbas glared at her sharply.
"What are you doing, contractor!"
"Mar, what are you doing? Delicacy is too lacking. It's been a while since you became a woman, so you should get used to being refined."
"Damn it. Who asked to become a female? Moreover, the prejudice that females must always be refined..."
"Female? Saying something so crude again."
If she could go back, she would go back right now! She puffed out her chest and exhaled. She crossed her arms in a slanted posture.
Originally, the place where her rugged pectoral muscles should be was occupied by soft fat layers.
Hitomi, who had unconsciously looked at it and then awkwardly turned her gaze away, quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, Kuroyuki-san. What is that paper bag?"
"This? Bansei-chan packed it with side dishes."
"Bansei-san?"
"From the main house, they send too much, so I sometimes bring it."
Upon Kuroyuki asking if she should share with Hitomi, she waved her hand. It was before the issue of whether it was too much to feel sorry for or not, because both Hitomi and Seoyeon weren't big eaters.
"More than that, do you come often?"
"It's not that often. But since the house is relatively close."
Kuroyuki Sui and Bansei Marin. That is, in virtual name, Tachibana Rin and Komori Sae. The two maintained the estranged couple concept in broadcasts, but in reality, their relationship was quite good.
Of course, whether they were rivals or not, as long as they broadcast together periodically, it was strange if they didn't get close.
But looking at the posts on Twitter or the occasional remarks that leaked from broadcasts, it seemed they met in reality often.
Of course, stories of actually meeting each other directly were not officially released due to the concept. But viewers were confident that they already knew that.
After all, Anathema viewers are the kind of people who look for angles even with a little clue, so how much more with such circumstantial evidence.
"Oh..."
"What? What kind of expression is that?"
"No. I thought Heavy Mori really existed..."
"...Suddenly becoming a bad girl viewer, Ninomae-chan?"
Kuroyuki looked at Hitomi half-turned and said that, but actually it was an inappropriate remark. Hitomi was originally a member of the 'coupling angle viewer' since long ago.
After all, Hitomi was a viewer of the 1st gen, so she applied to Anathema Production. And Anathema is a company that prominently features yuri sales in the VTuber industry.
What does that mean? They hid it from the 1st gen seniors, but it was said that they had once been a bad girl viewer.
"Ah, but I'm not in the Sae Rin faction, but in the Heavy Mori faction, right? If I have to say, it's the interpretation that Rin-senpai might be the mount."
"No, it's not that the coupling power is important..."
Actually, Kuroyuki also thought that was important, but at least right now, it wasn't the important topic.
Kuroyuki let out a small sigh. A rare, troubled emotion was on her face.
Because of the demon contract, her expressions didn't show well, so unless someone who saw her often, they wouldn't even notice if her expression changed, let alone the hidden emotions.
"Ninomae-chan is the only one among the juniors who is healing-type..."
"Uh, um... I won't deny that there are many peculiar people among our peers."
For VTubers, character is important, but the peers are so distinctive that it seems they weren't just picked for uniqueness.
"No, if it's about uniqueness, Ninomae-chan is the best. It's just that her personality is healing."
"Eh? Me?"
Hitomi tilted her head, but Kuroyuki stared at her eyes fixedly.
"Officially, the Living God who possesses a shrine, a precious lover who can make an Apostle decide to fight the world, a True Ancestor Vampire who made contracts with many demons, the domestic best king breast... Is that not enough?"
"Ma, the last one is unnecessary speech, right?!"
"Hey, contractor. Where did the person who called me crude go?"
"Exactly. Where did it go. It's really mysterious."
"..."
Hitomi's cheeks turned slightly red from Kuroyuki's words. In the middle, Marbas who tried to point it out was ignored as is.
"Among the juniors, the one who came to mind is... Contractor, isn't it tomorrow that your company is picking a new person?"
"Ah, ah. Now that I think about it, the audition was tomorrow, right?"
"Yes. That's right."
Hitomi nodded and continued.
"Finally, I have a junior... It's incredibly moving. It feels like it was just a while ago that I was evaluated by Kuroyuki-san."
"I see. The 3rd gen is coming out soon."
Kuroyuki nodded slightly at Hitomi's emotional murmur.
The memory of the first meeting as interviewer and interviewee was still fresh.
"Now that I'm saying this. The interview back then was really intense."
"Well, that's right. I was with Akaba-chan and D-chan."
Kuroyuki Sui, who never changed her expression. Akaba Akane, full of delinquent vibe. And the production president who seems to have come from the other side of the world, making one doubt if she rose from the depths.
The extreme pressure audition created by gathering the maximum visuals Anathema Production could mobilize at that time.
"Even this time, if you offered me as the interviewer, it seems the pressure audition concept will be maintained. Did you know?"
"Uh, um... I knew. Did I know..."
As for Kuroyuki, it was a story she said without thinking, but somehow Hitomi's reaction was quite hesitant.
"I thought the interviewees were a bit pitiful."
"Eh? Ninomae-chan also did well in the end, right?"
"No. This time's interviewer was that... me."
Hitomi tried to smile, of course the smile was very stiff.
"Since it's advantageous to Sion-san and Professor Senjoji... Of course, including the president."
"Oh... What kind of person does our president want to pick? An anachronistic samurai who doesn't back down from suicide special forces?"