Chapter 2
O–Oogami-senpai. I apologize; I wasn’t watching where I was going.
Nah, it’s my fault too for running into you. Sorry ‘bout that. You get hurt anywhere?
No, not at all.
Seriously? You don’t gotta hold back or anything. I don’t wanna hear you moanin’ and groanin’ later on.
Oh, your phone is… Might you have been handling your phone while you were walking? You shouldn’t do that; it’s dangerous.
Hah? I wasn’t walkin’~ I was runnin’.
That is much worse…
Well, you ain’t wrong. I said I was sorry, though.
…It’s Bonus Time right now, so I’m going around collectingaround and collecting items. I took my eyes off my base for one second and lost it, so I wanna hurry up and snatch it back.
Bonus Time… Item collecting…
Could it be, Oogami-senpai, that you are also playing RoseKnights?
What, you play too, you tomato-head trust fund baby? Heh, you got some good taste, huh~ Just like when we played Idobato.
RoseKnights is pretty fun, ain’t it! Kinda a pain to collect items, but it feels pretty good when you beat the shit out of another strong player and knock him off his high horse.
You’re still saying such unsettling things…
However, I do enjoy coming up with battle strategies. It makes my heart race the same way Idobato does.
And even more than that, I love how resplendent the rare items are. It is also nice that I can have a better advantage proportional to the investment I put into the game ♪
Hah, you’re all reliant on your cash, just like with Idobato. Gonna start callin’ you Jeff Bezos pretty soon.1
But it really is the best feeling to beat the hell out of guys like you.
Fufun, do not make light of me. I may be a whale, but I don’t shirk my responsibilities to earnestly train and practice.
I’ve balanced my stats to the point that I have no blind spots. I will not lose so easily.
Huh, right. …Well, I know I’m the one who held you up, but you should get to class. Ain’t first period boutta start?
I’m heading off. See ya.
Yes, until next time.
(I never would have expected that Oogami-senpai would be playing, too. I knew that there were other players within the school, since there was a base on campus, but.)
(Might there be even more players whom I know…?)
(Unngh. The Red Roses captured the base again. I knew someone was gonna target it, so I set up a buncha traps earlier.)
(But I guess free items are just no match for this dude?)
(And not only that, I have to face off against lonely_wolf again. I won’t be able to just recapture it no sweat.)
(It feels like there’s an overwhelming amount of players on the Blue Rose team…)
But Red Rose is more like a small group of elites…
Red Rose… Tetora-kun, did you just say Red Rose?
Mm? Yeah, I did but. Hajime-kun, you know about RoseKnights?
Rose… Nights… Or, I’m guessing you don’t mean the time of day.2
Earlier, Suou-kun was also saying something about a Red Rose.
Is “RoseKnights” the name of your mobile game, perhaps maybe?
Yup yup. They turned that card game Idobato into a phone game. It’s actually pretty fun~ ‘N you said Suou-kun’s playing it too?
He really said something ‘bout the Red Rose?
Ah, yes. I didn’t hear any details, though.
That’s cool. Suou-kun was pretty good at Idobato… You think he’s lonely_wolf?
Lonely wolf… a loner? Suou-kun doesn’t really seem to be that type of person…
Oh! I’m talking about his IGN. You don’t know it, do you Hajime-kun?
No, sorry…
Ah—! Um, if it’s okay with you, would you like to eat lunch together today?
Suou-kun promised to tell me more about this Rose…Knights over lunch ♪
That okay with you? I was thinking about eating in the cafeteria today, so you’re more than welcome to join me!