With that one sentence, a dead silence fell over the table.
Hakki leaned forward, craning her neck to look at the phone screen, then pointed a finger at herself. "Do I... look that funny?" she asked in disbelief.
"You don't look funny. I can't see your face on the stream, otherwise I wouldn't have staked out the cafeteria. I would have just recognized you on campus. But your gaming skills are funny. Very appetizing," Oguri Cap answered honestly, her eyes glued to the recording as her mouth continuously shoveled food from her plate.
At that moment, Hakki completely lost her appetite. Her empty stomach was now filled with sorrow, leaving no room for anything else. So all those damn fans praising me were just watching for laughs?!
Who could imagine the twisted, dark smiles on their faces as they typed in the chat?! Can't a streamer and her fans just be honest with each other?!
Hakki felt a sharp pain in her heart. She slammed one fist on the table and pressed the other hand against her aching stomach. "So this is what it feels like to be sick to your stomach with anger... You guys saw how bad I was and never pointed it out?"
"Munch, munch. I didn't want to point it out. Because if I did, CuckooBird_official would definitely practice hard to get better. But if that happened, she would lose the original joy of the game," Oguri Cap said, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster. Her words warmed Hakki's heart a little. So my fans do have a warm side!
"And if you got good, I wouldn't have any appetizing videos to watch," Oguri added. "The whole point of me watching CuckooBird_official is so I can eat more rice per meal."
Oguri's supplement made Hakki feel like her warming corpse had turned cold again.
"CuckooBird_official is sitting right across from you! I have feelings too, you know!"
"This is called being blunt. Saying it face-to-face makes it more sincere. Because when CuckooBird_official plays games, she experiences true happiness. I've played games too, but I don't like playing anymore because I lose," Oguri Cap said, having already devoured everything on her plate.
Hakki finally picked up her spoon and started poking at her rice. She took out her own phone and showed Oguri the screen. "This is my Horse-tter QR code. Let's be friends. You're [Monster] in the fan group, right...?"
"Yep, that's me. When I was still racing, fans liked to call me the 'Ash-Haired Monster.' I couldn't think of a screen name, so I just used that."
After adding her as a friend, while Oguri Cap was completely focused on her phone, Hakki's gaze shifted to the floor under the table. She saw the burlap sack lying there. She extended her foot, pinned it with her toe, and slowly dragged it back.
The sack slowly slid from Oguri Cap's side to under Hakki's foot. Pinning it down, she kicked it under her seat. On the surface, she pretended to be casually eating her rice, but her eyes were already darting around, searching for an escape route.
"So, do you know if there are any other horse girls in the group...? I mean, horse girls from Central Tracen," Hakki asked, still worried. If there were others, her life at Central would be an absolute nightmare!
Oguri Cap patted her slightly rounded belly, thought for a moment, and replied bluntly, "Nope. As far as I know, it's just me."
"That's a relief... Um, also... I forgot to introduce myself. My name is..."
"CuckooBird_official. I know."
"That's my screen name! You can't just call people by their screen name!" A vein popped on Hakki's delicate face. She never thought she'd be so thoroughly shut down by Oguri Cap.
Calming herself down, and giving herself time to finish her rice, Hakki finally put her hands together to end the meal. Her feet fidgeted restlessly on the floor. "My name is Hakki Byakku. I'm a new student who just enrolled today. I can't believe I'm being bullied by a big-bellied upperclassman on my very first day..."
"?" Oguri Cap was stunned. She looked down at her own belly in confusion. My belly is a little big right now, she thought, but I haven't bullied this fellow ash-haired girl, have I!?
"How am I bullying...?" The moment Oguri voiced her question, her ears caught the sound of shoes scraping against the floor. She looked up just in time to see Hakki clutching her phone and bolting.
She looked down for her burlap sack, but Oguri Cap found nothing. By the time she stood up to give chase, Hakki had already fled the cafeteria, and Oguri couldn't see a trace of her outside.
"Hah... hah... thank god I'm fast and Oguri is a bit dense... If that had been any other horse girl, I would have been done for..." Hakki hid in a low bush, the darkness and leaves providing perfect camouflage. As she turned her phone to night mode and opened her contacts, she realized something.
She forgot to get Deep Impact's Horse-tter contact before leaving!
Was she supposed to walk this dark and dangerous path alone? Who knew where an ash-haired monster might jump out from to arrest her? Does she... does she really have to go?
Swallowing nervously, just as Hakki poked her head out of the bushes, a large hand suddenly landed on her head, which still had twigs sticking in it. The hand scared Hakki so much she screamed.
"Wait, I wasn't going to run, Oguri, please calm down, I definitely won't run, ahhh!!!"
The owner of the hand was a bit surprised by the ash-haired girl who had burrowed into the bushes. A cheerful voice followed. "Whose little horse is this? And what's her connection to Oguri Cap? Rudolf, what do you think?"
"I don't think much of it, but hiding in the bushes at night is definitely a problem. CB, take her back to the office."
"Heh, so the rumors are true. You must be the Ash-Haired Symbol..."
"CB!"
"I get it, I get it! Alright, little one, come with us." Mr. C.B., a golden 'CB' hairpin in her right ear glinting under the streetlight, effortlessly lifted Hakki out of the bushes with one hand and set her down on the stone path. She even thoughtfully patted the leaves off her clothes and white thigh-high socks.
"Uh... huh? Re... Representative CB... senpai?" Hakki was worried it was Oguri Cap who had caught her, but it turned out to be the legendary Triple Crown horse girl known for her freedom, Mr. C.B.?!
Mr. C.B. wasn't surprised to be recognized. As a former Triple Crown horse girl, she had plenty of fans. She ignored Symboli Rudolf up ahead and half-knelt to be at eye level with Hakki. "Let's talk in the office~ I'm also very curious about your relationship with Oguri Cap, little one."
She had only been trying to escape Oguri Cap, but she'd ended up running into the dictator of the entire Tracen Academy... the dog emperor with limitless power at Central, Symboli Rudolf...
As Hakki reluctantly walked forward, she glanced at her own ash hair under the streetlight, which was so light it was almost white. A shiver ran down her spine. If I enter the student council office, this den of thieves... will I come out in one piece...?
-------
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