Volume 2 Chapter 71 The Truth Behind the Identity Reveal (I)
"Since when... did you realize?"
Takeru's voice was quiet. Almost a whisper. The room grew tense.
"Around the second stream... maybe?"
Rie-tan answered without hesitation.
"I see. So it was."
Takeru nodded slowly.
Huh? Wait, that early on?
"By the way, how did you figure it out...?"
I leaned forward.
"Uh, well, that's..."
Sagawa scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"That's it! Takeru yelled at you after the first stream in class—"
Sagawa blurted out.
"DON'T JUST BARGE IN!"
I snapped.
My hand shot out on reflex.
SMACK!
"Oof!"
Sagawa staggered.
At the same time, Rie-tan stepped in from the other side.
WHACK!
We sandwiched Sagawa's head between two very solid smacks.
"Hey! You guys' hits aren't funny!"
Sagawa rubbed his cheeks.
"It's Sagawa who interrupted the conversation."
Rie-tan crossed her arms.
"Ehhh... but still—"
Sagawa whined.
"Your face is kinda infuriating."
I said with a straight face.
"HEY!"
Sagawa flailed his arms.
"Takeru was just complaining!"
Sagawa tried to argue.
But we ignored him.
"Anyway, thanks to Sagawa barging in, I calmed down a bit."
Rie-tan said with a small smile.
Wait. Could it be... Sagawa did that on purpose?
If so...!
"Ouch! Why?!"
Sagawa yelped as I smacked him again, open-palm.
"Ugh... something about you is just annoying."
I muttered, shaking my hand.
Sagawa—no, Sagaemon—was flustered again.
Alright. We needed to reset.
Time to hear Sagawa's story properly.
* * *
"I first noticed it around the day after your first stream as Omega."
Sagawa said at last.
"The first stream? Ah... the one that blew up?"
I tilted my head.
"Come to think of it, that day in class, someone said something like, 'Are you Omega?'"
"Yeah. But back then, I wasn't sure it was you. I was bluffing. Fishing to see if you were registered as a Seeker."
Sagawa explained with a shrug.
"...After that, I asked Sagawa-kun to put on an act."
Rie-tan said, her voice low.
"To test if Takeru-kun was really Omega."
"WHAT?!"
I practically shouted.
I turned to her in shock.
"Rie-tan!!"
I gawked.
She took a deep breath and bowed.
"Yes. I'm so sorry for deceiving you!"
"No, no, no! It's fine! Seriously, it's fine now! So stop bowing already!!"
I flailed my hands in a panic.
"You... can forgive me?"
Rie-tan raised her head just slightly.
"Of course! It's nothing! From now on, just be yourself, Rie-tan!"
I gave her a thumbs-up.
She exhaled.
Her shoulders relaxed.
Good. Peace restored.
For now.
* * *
"Wait... Rie-tan came up with the act? So... she's the one who figured out I was Omega?"
I frowned.
"Yeah. That's right."
Rie-tan nodded.
"But it was actually Kisaragi-san who mentioned something that sealed the deal..."
She added.
"Huh? Wh-wh-what?! Kisaragi-san?!"
I turned toward her in shock.
There she was.
Kisaragi-san, arms crossed.
Looking smug as hell.
* * *
"I suspected you because the date you registered as a Seeker matched Omega's first broadcast."
Kisaragi said matter-of-factly.
"You WHAT?!"
I yelped.
My voice cracked.
I stared at her.
"You checked that?! That's basically hacking!"
I turned to Sakurako-tan for backup.
But she just shrugged.
"It's fine. I've already forgiven her."
She said like it was obvious.
"Wh-wha—Sakurako-tan?!"
I shouted again.
She nodded.
"I've been working with Kisaragi-san for a while now. Didn't you know? Before we went to the Ryukyu dungeon?"
"Uh... yeah... I think I did."
I mumbled.
Right. She knew everything.
Our time in another world.
The Time Jumper magic circle in Ikebukuro Dungeon.
Even the mass production of Trans Potions.
"So, with Sakurako-tan's permission, I have access to the Seeker Association's server."
Kisaragi said, like it was no big deal.
"Oh. That... makes sense."
I nodded.
Wait, does it?
No, it doesn't!
"And that's how I found out that Takeru and Omega registered on the same day."
Kisaragi continued.
"But... but that's not conclusive, right?"
I argued.
"You still didn't have enough proof!"
"Exactly."
Kisaragi smirked.
"That's why I told ojou to put on an act."
"Wait. So the whole thing was Kisaragi-san's plan?!"
I gawked at her.
"Yes."
She said without hesitation.
"Ojou was just following orders."
"Then... Rie-tan didn't need to apologize so much..."
I mumbled.
"She didn't."
Kisaragi agreed.
"But ojou still felt responsible."
She added, glancing at Rie-tan.
"I... I did deceive you, Takeru-kun!"
Rie-tan blurted.
Her face turned bright red.
She stepped between me and Kisaragi-san, as if that would help.
* * *
"So anyway."
Kisaragi clapped her hands once.
"Thanks to ojou and Sagawa-kun's little performance, we confirmed Takeru-kun is Omega."
"Wait, wait!"
I raised both hands.
"You said there was a performance, but... what was it?!"
Kisaragi's eyes gleamed.
"I was just about to ask you that."
She leaned in.
Her smirk was pure evil.
"Huh?!"
I choked.
"You didn't notice? Well, let's hear what you think happened."
She said, as if this was all a fun little game.
And just like that...
The pressure was back on.
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