After reading the information that Izumi had sent directly into her mind, Kotori Minami froze.
Then her face turned completely red.
The novel's contents were simply too embarrassing.
In that story, not only had she ended up marrying Izumi—
The girls from the Light Music Club had as well.
"W-What is this...?!"
Kotori felt like she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself on the spot.
Who in the world had written something so shameless?
And why had she been curious enough to ask about it in the first place?
If she had known what the answer would be, she never would have brought it up.
This is awful...
Izumi-kun must have misunderstood me now...
Unable to stop herself, she secretly glanced toward him.
Unfortunately, Izumi was already looking back at her with an amused smile.
Their eyes met.
Kotori nearly died of embarrassment.
I want to disappear.
...
Meanwhile, Honoka noticed her best friend's strange behavior.
"Kotori?"
"What's wrong?"
"You've been acting weird."
Kotori immediately shook her head.
"N-Nothing!"
"I was just thinking about something!"
She desperately changed the subject.
This matter absolutely could not be discussed.
If the others learned about the contents of that novel...
Just imagining their reactions was enough to make her panic.
No.
This secret would remain buried forever.
Watching her flustered attempts to hide it, Izumi found the situation rather entertaining.
Nearby, Kayo quietly observed the interaction.
A satisfied smile appeared on her face.
As expected of Izumi-oniichan.
He noticed Kotori immediately.
And more importantly—
She had been the one who brought the girls here in the first place.
From her perspective, her operation had been a complete success.
For a moment, Kayo felt oddly proud.
Then she paused.
Wait...
Why am I acting like a matchmaker?
I'm still a kid!
The thought made her expression turn slightly strange.
...
Izumi, meanwhile, had no idea what was going through her head.
After finishing their discussion, the girls began making plans for the future.
The Tree of Life was enormous.
After some debate, they settled on a simple idea:
Each member would livestream a different area.
That way viewers could see more of the place.
Everyone agreed.
Of course, there was no need to start immediately.
They still needed to return home first.
After all, if they were going to spend significant time here in the future, they needed to explain things to their families.
One after another, the girls said their goodbyes.
As she left, Kotori couldn't help glancing back at Izumi.
For some reason, every time she looked at him now, scenes from that ridiculous novel resurfaced in her mind.
It was hopeless.
Her imagination had completely betrayed her.
...
Once everyone had gone, only Izumi and Kayo remained.
Izumi looked toward her.
Then he sighed.
"You planned this, didn't you?"
"You brought them here on purpose."
Kayo immediately pouted.
"Izumi-oniichan."
"You obviously liked it."
"So stop pretending."
"Those girls are basically your favorite anime heroines, aren't they?"
"You like them."
"So don't act innocent."
The moment she finished speaking, she spun around and ran away.
Leaving Izumi standing there alone.
"..."
For once, even he didn't know how to respond.
What was he supposed to do when his little sister figure was this perceptive?
Watching her disappear into the distance, he silently complained before turning his attention elsewhere.
...
With nothing better to do, Izumi opened the livestream platform.
Countless broadcasts appeared before him.
The newly connected world had embraced livestreaming far faster than he expected.
Watching all the energetic girls streaming across different worlds, he nodded in satisfaction.
Creating this platform really was the right decision.
There were so many interesting people.
And far more beautiful girls than before.
This alone made the project worthwhile.
He began scrolling through the streams one by one.
Then suddenly—
A familiar face appeared.
Izumi immediately stopped.
"...Seriously?"
...
The livestream belonged to Kaguya Houraisan.
And the moment he entered—
A furious voice exploded through the speakers.
"Zhencai! What kind of jungle are you even playing?!"
"If you've got guts, post your address!"
"I'll come over and beat you myself!"
"How dare a player like that steal my jungle route?!"
She slammed her desk dramatically.
"Everyone!"
"Tell me!"
"Shouldn't this useless jungler be criticized?!"
Izumi stared at the screen.
Then stared some more.
Finally he rubbed his forehead.
"...Amazing."
"This woman is feeding and still blaming her teammates."
The confidence was truly astounding.
After silently admiring her shamelessness, he casually sent a donation.
233 Points.
...
The donation alert immediately appeared.
Kaguya's eyes lit up.
"Oh?"
"Thank you for the donation, old man!"
"Want to queue together?"
Izumi didn't even hesitate.
He blocked the invitation instantly.
Play games with Kaguya?
Absolutely not.
Her mechanics weren't terrible.
The problem was something much worse.
Whenever he queued with her, the matchmaking system seemed determined to assemble the most chaotic teammates imaginable.
The loss rate was horrifying.
Then he typed a reply.
"No thanks."
"You're too powerful."
"A shut-in princess doesn't deserve teammates."
The moment the message appeared—
Kaguya's face turned green.
Crack.
The mouse in her hand shattered.
"...That bastard again?!"
"How dare he slander me!"
Ever since arriving in this world, Kaguya had become far bolder than before.
Without the constant danger and isolation of her old life, her personality had started drifting alarmingly close to Fujiwara no Mokou's.
She pointed at the screen.
"Just because you donated doesn't mean you can insult me!"
"If you've got guts, fight me directly!"
"What's the point of talking trash online?!"
Izumi narrowed his eyes.
"Oh?"
"She's gotten bold."
The chat exploded with excitement.
Everyone sensed danger.
Then, without warning, Izumi reached toward the screen.
A giant hand emerged directly from the livestream feed.
Before Kaguya could react—
It grabbed the back of her collar.
"W-Wait?!"
The next second, she was yanked straight out of her own livestream.
The viewers watched in stunned silence.
Then the chat completely exploded.
"NO WAY!"
"Did someone just drag the streamer through the internet?!"
"That's insane!"
"She finally angered a real boss!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
And thus, under the horrified eyes of her audience, the NEET Princess vanished from her own broadcast.