“Is that... okay with you?”
Bunny Bellhop was a VTuber that sometimes made videos with Emily. Elena had also mentioned that they were real-life friends. As a fan, the idea that she would even read a doujinshi like that was all kinds of exciting, but at the same time, it did sound a bit weird.
Wouldn’t reading that kind of story about yourself be super awkward?
“Hm? Why wouldn’t it be?” she asked as if the question made no sense to her. I decided not to press the matter further.
So long as she’s fine with it...
“I had so much fun in there!” Elena said as we left the shop soon after, dazzling me with a contagious smile.
“I’m glad to hear! Now, as for where to go next...” I began, sneakily gauging her reaction as I took out my phone. She looked slightly surprised. “Wh-Why don’t we go and eat something together? If that’s cool with you, of course.”
I didn’t know if Elena was planning to go anywhere else, but just visiting Animate and calling it a day would have made for a very underwhelming date.
“R-Really?” she stammered, unable to hide her shock. “Shopping with you already made me so happy. I wasn’t expecting you to propose that we do something else together. I... I’d love to!”
She’s such a sweet girl...
“Great! What about this place?” I asked as I showed her a photo of the pancake café that Kokoro had told me about. “It’s a bit of a ways away from Electric Town, so we shouldn’t have to worry about anyone recognizing you.”
“Y-You even went through the trouble of looking up a place beforehand?!”
“It wasn’t that much trouble to be honest...”
I wasn’t the one that looked it up in the first place.
“It looks wonderful! Yes! Let’s go, please!”
We headed toward the café, guided by my phone’s GPS. Along the way, I tried to keep in mind what Kokoro had told me about being gentlemanly to Elena. I matched my walking pace to hers and tried not to choose any topics that could make her uncomfortable. I was trying my best, but I had absolutely no idea whether I was succeeding.
“Is this the place? It’s so cute!” Elena commented once we reached the pancake shop.
The decor was indeed very cute—I would have never chosen a place like that if I wasn’t accompanied by a girl.
She ordered a sweet pancake with berries and ice cream, and I got a savory one with eggs and sausages.
“This café is lovely! And to think that you chose it for me... I’m so grateful!”
“No, really, don’t mention it...” I replied, feeling slightly ashamed at being thanked for something that Kokoro had planned. At the same time, though, I knew to thank her later for helping me choose a date location that Elena looked so happy about.
Our orders soon arrived at the table, sparking Elena’s excitement once more.
“Awww, it’s so cute!” she said, taking a picture of her pancake. She then put her phone down to look at me. “Y-You know... this really feels like... a date.”
The sheer beauty of her glowing smile and blushing cheeks was nothing short of breathtaking.
“W-Well, this is a date, right?”
“Hehe, I guess you could say that. You even took me out to eat, as if it were a real date. I couldn’t be any happier than I am right now.”
Seeing Elena enjoy herself like this was exactly what I wanted; however, the more fun I had on this date, the sadder I became. I’d never get to go on another one with her.
As we continued enjoying our pancakes, the topic of conversation turned to VTubers. I suggested that we try not to use any recognizable names and refrain from saying anything that would cause too much trouble if we were heard. Even if we weren’t in the heart of Akihabara anymore, lowering our guard would have been too much of a risk.
“Thank you for being so considerate! I’m nowhere near careful enough, so you’ve helped me a lot,” Elena said.
“By the way, I noticed you’ve been uploading more videos where you sing and dance lately. You’re unbelievably talented, Minami.”
“Thanks! I actually took dance lessons as a kid.”
We talked about anime, gacha games, Comiket, and all other kinds of otaku stuff. Being able to talk about my hobbies with a girl that understood them was a wonderful feeling. If you also considered how pretty she looked, how cute her voice was, and the fact that she was a voice actress, there was nothing else to conclude other than that she was the perfect otaku girlfriend. I was confident that ten out of ten otaku guys would agree.
Elena and I even talked about Kokoro and Kisaki. Despite having chatted for almost two hours, though, time had raced by in the blink of an eye. One minute we were sitting down to eat, and the next we were paying the bill and leaving the café.
“I can’t thank you enough for today,” she told me as we were ready to part ways at the station.
“Not at all! I should be the one thanking you!”
“You? Thanking me? Why...?”
“Huh? Because I had so much fun...”
“It’s so kind of you to say that... I wish I could stop time so this day could last forever. I was able to go to Animate and shop for doujinshi there like I’ve wanted for so long, then you even took me to that wonderful café. Chatting with you like that was so pleasant... It was perfect. I couldn’t have wished for a better date.”
“M-Me t—”
Before I could tell Elena how much I’d also enjoyed our date, I noticed a couple of men standing staring at us... or rather, at Elena. They were too far away to have heard us, but it looked like they’d recognized her.
“Mina...” I began to say, but decided halfway through that saying her name out loud wouldn’t be a good idea. “Why don’t we go for one last walk before going home?”
“Hm?” She looked at me, confused, having not seen the two men. I needed a better excuse.