"Mmm⦠Exercise is scary⦠Huh!?"
I suddenly wake up to find myself in my bed.
I realize someone is stroking my hair and turn to look.
ãOh, you're finally awake. Good morning, Iroha.ã
ãMm, good morning. Wait, is it already morning?ã
ãYou seemed really tired.ã
ãI see.ã
Morning sunlight was streaming in through the window. It seems I have been asleep the whole time since I passed out yesterday.
â¦Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, that wasnât just because of exhaustion!
I couldnât sleep at all the night before because of Ah-nee!?
ãBy the way, I canât see Ah-nee anywhere. Where is she? The living room?ã
Thanks to her, I missed a bunch of live streams from my favorites yesterday.
Damn it, what a blunder! I need to demand an apology for that over-the-top exercise stream and the âaftermath.'
ãAnego has already returned to Japan.ã
ãWhat?ã
ãWell, she was only planning on staying for a short time anyway. The flight time came before you woke up.ã
ãâ¦I see. She couldâve at least woken me up.ã
Seriously, Ah-nee. Leaving quietly without saying anything?
When she's around, sheâs noisy, but when sheâs gone, I kind of miss herâ¦
Sigh. She really is like a storm.
She stirs everything up and then disappears as if nothing happened.
ãAnego said, âLet Iroha sleep.âã
ãâ¦Oh, really.ã
ãDon't sulk. You're just lonely.ã
ãWha!? I-Iâm not thinking that at all!ã
ãIâve got a message for you.ã
While insisting, âIâm not sulking,â I urge her to continue.
The message I was slightly hoping for wasâ¦
ãâIroha-chan, make sure to keep exercising even after Iâm gone!â she said.ã
ãGuh!?ã
ãShe also said, âI didn't think the tutorial would be all you could handleâ and âWhen I played, it was so easy that I thought it would end quickly.âã
ãGuh-foo!?ã
Don't compare me to a stamina monster like you!
There are VTubers out there who canât even skip properly!
ãAnd she said, âTry to talk to or visit Mai as much as possible.âã
ãSeems like Anego was pretty envious that only she got to meet Iroha this time.ã
ãâ¦Yeah.ã
ãIâm serious. She was even joking, âAfter I get back to Japan, is Mai going to kill me? Iâve been feeling her gaze while I sleep lately.âã
ãY-yeah!?ã
I could easily imagine Mai in a dark room, staring at Ah-nee with sick eyes as she slept.
I mean, we talk on the phone often.
And Iâm planning to visit her soon.
Iâve got something important to do with her. Something very, very importantâ¦
ãWell, Anego did bring back a souvenir, so I think itâll be okay.ã
ãA souvenir? Oh, what did she buy?ã
ãWell, a picture of your sleeping face.ã
ãWhat!? Why'd she take that without permission!? And why would that be enough to appease Mai!?ã
Well, Mai might forgive that. She probably would.
And if Ah-nee took a picture, that meansâ¦
ãYou definitely took a picture too, didnât you!?ã
ãâ¦Pi-hyoro~ã
ãI knew it! Hand over your phone! Iâm deleting it right now!ã
ãN-no way! Besides, what's one or two pictures nowâ¦ã
ãWait. Have you been secretly taking photos of me all along!?ã
ãUh⦠Wh-what are you talking about?ã
ãYou sneaky littleâ¦!ã
When did Ah-nee and you even take those pictures�
I guess it mustâve been after I passed out in the bathroom.
ãWait, hang on. Just to confirm⦠You took those pictures after dressing me, right? You mustâve, right?ã
ãâ¦ã
ãWhy are you silent!? Iâm reporting both of you under the child pornography laws!ã
ãW-wait!? I-I made sure to cover the important parts!ã
ãSo I was naked!? You pervert!ã
ãWaaah!? â¦Huh? What? Irohaâs usual whack isnât coming?ãn/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Angu Ogu, who was bracing herself for a hit, peeked through her closed eyelids, tilting her head.
I was lying in bed the whole time.
ãâ¦Help me up.ã
ãHuh?ã
ãI said, help me! Iâm too sore to move! So help me up so I can be mad at you!ã
ãYouâre making no sense!?ã
ãAnd youâre making dinner today! And carry me! And bring my phone, open MyTube, and play it!ã
ãYouâre just being demanding! Jeez, what a spoiled princess you are!ã
ãIâm not a princess!ã
ãYeah, yeah.ã
After realizing I couldnât move, I just gave up.
Usually, Iâm the one taking care of Angu Ogu. Itâs okay to be taken care of once in a while.
ãWell, itâs fine. Itâs rare for Iroha to be this clingy. Itâs not a bad feeling.ã
ãIâm not being clingyâ¦ã
ãHmm⦠Poke.ã
ãOuch!? Donât poke me! It hurts because of the muscle soreness⦠Wait, what are you thinking?ã
ãI just realized Iroha canât move right now.ã
ãUm⦠How about we calm down and talk this over?ã
ãAlright, Iroha. Leave everything to me today! Iâll take good care of you!ã
ãSorry, I take it back. You donât have to do anything⦠Nooo!?ã
Angu Oguâs idea of âtaking care' was harsh in many ways.
Until I could move again, I was stuck being her playthingâ¦
***
I finally escaped that muscle soreness hell.
The day for the stream I had planned a while ago had arrived. The content wasâ¦
âSo today, weâll be doing a language stream with Ilyena-chan~!â