CH 32

Kanata’s days remained the same, even after meeting Goddess Isla, a veritable heavenly being.

Although he has been active in streaming every day since then, there has not been a single contact from Isla since then, as she said.

Well, since a goddess is a divine being, one might lose appreciation for her after encountering her so many times.

“… Haah.”

Nevertheless, the five aristocratic students in question have changed since then, and Kanata definitely understood that she had done something… wrong, or so he thinks.

“Kanata-kun, what’s troubling you?”

“Kanata-sama, is something troubling you?”

“… It’s nothing.”

Maybe because he was in a daze thinking about Isla like that, he got approached by Maria and Alphana, who sat on both sides of him.

Putting Isla aside for the moment, these two were the ones that were bothering Kanata right now.

Starting when they took a day off due to anemia at the same time, the girls got so close to him that, when they gathered during recess or after school, their shoulders brushed against his.

“… isn’t this kind of close?”

“Yeah?”

“Is that so?”

‘— I don’t think so.’ They both tilted their heads as if to say that.

While they maintained a certain distance in classrooms and other places in public, it is easy to see how much they changed when they were alone like this.

With the sweet, flowery smell of their fragrance and the distance between them, which sometimes almost touches his shoulders, Kanata’s cheeks tightened desperately.

(Is it possible that they both have a crush on me? No! I’m confused… Haah… This is so stupid!)

Kanata let out a sigh at the impossible thought.

A sweet romance with a princess and a saint, both important positions in the country, is certainly something to be longed for, but it is permissible only when it is a fantasy.

There is a reason they gathered like this, despite their delusions.

“So, Kanata-sama, aside from the T-shirt, the badges will be ready soon.”

They are currently working on merchandise for the fans of Haishin, not the followers of Haishin… but the earliest they are likely to complete is a badge.

It is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. So, one could attach it to their clothes or bag.

Kanata was not sure if it would sell or not, but who knows…

“Here’s a sample, by the way.”

“… Oh.”

The picture drawn on the round and commonly-seen badge was that of Haishin at that time.

It was the cosplay of a guy who belongs to an evil organization, but apparently, this is how the world sees him, and for the time being, it is how he will be known as Haishin.

“Somehow, with this kind of mask and black clothes, I’m afraid an imposter will show up.”

Anyone can become Haishin by faking his voice.

Well, it is unclear whether they can display the charisma that Kanata unintentionally shows over the streaming, so perhaps in that sense, there is not too much to worry about.

“I don’t think there will be anyone who can imitate your prestige, Kanata-sama…”

“That’s right. Kanata-kun, your listeners will know right away when it’s a fake.”

“I’m glad you both trust me so much.”

Kanata muttered quietly.

After that, Maria regretfully left because of her official duties as a princess, leaving just him and Alphana.

“But still, this place is a haven. No one actually comes here.”

“Yeah, I guess so. As for me, I’m just relieved they don’t see me having a secret meeting with a saint and a princess.”

“Ara, a secret meeting… sounds lovely ♪.”

“Really?”

Kanata expressed his concern that the church would kill him if they knew that he was meeting secretly with the Saint and the Princess, but Alphana shook her head and said that would not be the case.

“There is no rule saying you can’t meet men just because you’re a saint, and you won’t get disqualified if you lose your virginity. So I don’t think they would make a fuss over something as trivial as a secret meeting.”

“No virgins or girls of your age say that.”

He made tsukkomi there.

“So you’ll be fine.”

“? Yeah, got it.”

Apparently, there was no need to worry about the secret meeting.

Kanata nodded, and Alphana was happy to see him, making a clenched fist, which was also a mystery to Kanata, but the topic moved on to something else.

“And by the way, you got to know Mira, too.”

“Yes. Mira-san is member number 4. Well, I didn’t expect a girl our age to be a legendary assassin.”

For the record, Mira had already revealed her true identity, but as for Shrouza, she had not told her that she was a demon king, just that she was part of a demon tribe.

“And you welcomed them well, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Because we’re all in the same boat.”

“… I see.”

“Yes ♪.”

Maybe it was better of him not to say anything.

(For Shrouza to be involved with Alphana like this… she must have known who she is. I mean, it’s not like she’s that careless, but I fear she doesn’t get exposed in a way that she doesn’t want to.)

Kanata thought this was something he would have to be even more careful of.

“Speaking of which, Kanata-sama, do you know anyone from Maria’s family?”

“Eh? Well, the king and queen, right? That’s all I know.”

Maria is the kingdom’s princess, so her family is naturally the king and queen, while her siblings are princes and princesses.

He doesn’t have any particular interest in them, and he’s not from Royal Capital, so there are more things he doesn’t know about them that he should.

“Actually, I recently heard that Maria’s brother and sister have been pestering her for a long time that they want to see Haishin-sama too, and they keep asking her how they can see him when she returns to the castle!”

“… I see.”

No wonder Maria was looking tired lately.

It’s not crazy to think that when your family meets a celebrity, you want to meet them too.

Kanata also thought that if his relatives got to know a famous person, he would surely mention that he wanted to meet them too.

“… I’m indebted to Maria, but.”

“Fufu, I’ll ask you to be patient for a while.”

‘Sorry Maria,’ Kanata apologized in his mind.

Kanata returned to the dormitory after parting with Alphana, as it was already getting late.

“… smell so good… stop thinking, stop! They’ll call you a pervert.”

Earlier, he mentioned that he was indebted to Maria, but it was Alphana who was helping Kanata even more.

Within the academy, she looks after him as long as she’s present there, and even if someone other than the five people in question seems to get involved with him, she moves to warn them in advance… Kanata truly believes that she has compassion that lives up to the name of a saint.

“… Well, got to stream tonight. I wonder what to talk about today.”

The days have been really peaceful, except for the Goddess Isla.

As for the Haishin goods, he was fighting it as if it was a stomachache, but since this was something due to his fame, he just had to accept it.

Then, as he was screaming, a letter of concern arrived at Kanata.

[Haishin-sama! Today, I met some people in the city who were collecting money to support you.]

[As a fan of Haishin-sama myself, I deposited some money to help you in any way I could!]

[Keep up the good work!]

[… Wait, what do you mean?]

That was new to him.

Someone was raising money to support Haishin, something Kanata did not comprehend and did not wish to do.

In the first place, support in the form of money had already been established as online donations, so there was no need to raise funds in such an indirect way.

[… isn’t that some kind of scam or something?]

Kanata wondered if that was a scam.

Of course, it was also possible to have good intentions. He couldn’t say for sure.

However, if someone is trying to line their pockets in the name of Haishin, they can’t be ignored.

[Hey? Did you guys give them money, too?]

He received comments from people who witnessed the moment, and Kanata ended the stream by saying it would be better to look into it right away.

He opened the windowpane, and Mira was waiting for me, as she should have been.

“Can I help you, Kanata-sama?”

“You scared the s**t out of me… but you were listening, right?”

“Of course.”

“Can you do it?”

“Leave it to me.”

Saying Mira disappeared.

He wondered what the purpose of this was, but it was probably just some people wanting to raise money through a scam.

It seems that not only combat but also information gathering is a piece of cake for Mira.

And further, with the help of the Demon King, they were able to find out who was behind all this.