A new day began for Erika. The virtual experience from yesterday felt like a distant dream by time she arrived at her class. Nothing fundamentally changed about her daily life and she was now back to being “Erika”, with “FluffyCuteling” forgotten.

... or so she thought. When Erika opened the class’s door, she was greeted by an unexpected shout.

“Hey, Titan!”

“W-wha!?”

Erika was taken aback by the sudden greeting. Mina properly attended school and she casually waved to Erika. It was a dangerous situation!

“Haha, Titan?”

“Pft, what’s that about?”

A few classmates laughed at the embarrassing scene. They were naturally curious about the relationship between the two girls, and that made Erika sweat bullets.

“M-Mina, can I have a word with you? Come here, PLEASE.”

“Huuuh? Let’s talk here!”

“Just come for a moment!”

Erika grabbed the loud creature and dragged her out of the classroom.

Phew, here should be safe.

They were all the way behind the high school building, in an isolated area where nobody should see them.

“So what’s the damn deal, Titan?”

Mina glared at her abductor.

“Listen very well, Mini. I told how others don’t know I’m a gamer, right?”

“Yeah, because you’re a dumb closet Titan gamer.”

“If the Infamous Gamer Girl, namely you, acts all casual around me.... don’t you think they’ll suspect something?”

“Oh...”

Mina’s fierce expression disappeared and she lowered her head. Her usual beastial aggression was nowhere to be found.

“Of course, simply hanging around a gamer doesn’t necessarily mark you as a fellow gamer. But, people like attaching tags irresponsibly and I’d rather avoid that.”

“.......”

“So, none of that ‘Titan’ bussiness at school, please. Let’s act like fellow classmates and nothing more.”

“...............”

“The official version about yesterday’s visit should go like this: I stayed at your place for a few hours in order to help you with the material you missed at school.”

“.........................”

“I’ll be visiting today again to ‘finish our studying session’, because you’re a silly Mini who can’t study fast enough.”

Erika smiled after she threw a proactive joke. However, there was zero reaction to her words.

“Say, Mini... are you listening?”

“B...”

Mina remained silent the whole time and twisted her lips, as if to say something. Her body shook like a missile preparing to launch.

“Bah! You sure can run that big yapper of yours!”

“E-excuse me?”

“So that’s how it gonna be, huh?! Gonna act like a goodie class prez bitch at school!?”

Mina roared like a mad dog..

“Bah! Sure, sure! Gamers are shit, huh?! They’re just dumbasses to laugh at!”

“I-I never...”

“Of course not! A two-faced goodie like you won’t even bother talking to them, huh?! You freakin’ Two-Faced Titan!”

“I...”

Erika was paralyzed from shock, her mind a jumble. The sudden stabs came out of nowhere and pierced into her soul.

“Bah! I bet ya talk trash about gamers all day long with your dumb friends, huh!? Then ya play games yourself and laugh at these same friends too! Must be hilarious!”

Please, be quiet...

“I wonder what a doc’d say about ya! He’d diagnose you as a dumb psycho bitch, you two-faced freak!”

Just... just shut up!

“Gah!”

Mina was slammed across the face. The raging storm of insults quieted down and Mina’s cheek turned red.

“E-eh!?”

Erika withdrew her hand in shock. She never before hit another person. But, just now, her hand moved freely... as if it was natural to slap Mina.

“S-sorry! A-are you alright- GEH!?”

Erika’s leg was smashed by a boulder. Mina poured all her fury into one, savage blow.

“Bah! If that’s how ya want it, fine by me!”

Mina yelled without even looking at Erika.

“I’ll pretend I never met the dumb Titan who plays games! Ya just some class prez bitch, the ‘Two-Faced Titan’! Don’t even talk to me again, you fucker!”

Mina broke into a sprint and left the area. She didn’t look back, not even once. Till the very end, Erika couldn’t tell what expression the little girl wore as she yelled her curses.

“What... I...”

Erika sat on the ground with a broken leg, still in shock from the sudden development. The girls came here to discuss how they’ll act around at school... how did it turn into a fight?

Not to mention Mina’s aggressive nature, Erika was astonished by her own behaviour more than anything. No matter what rubbish Mina spouted - it didn’t justify a slap. The fight didn’t break out until Erika fired the first shot, without even intending to do so.

How could I hit her...? Am I actually that immature?

Erika stared at her long palms in disbelief. Even if she never hit anybody before, it didn’t mean she never visualized such scenarios in her head. She was a human, and humans were prone to anger.

Perhaps, somewhere deep inside, Erika really wanted to slap Mina at that moment. But, for the anger to consume her and for her hands to execute that crime... she was ashamed of herself beyond belief.

Erika’s crushed leg partially healed and she limped back to class.

Why did Mini blow off in the first place? I just asked her to keep our relationship under wrappers. Wasn’t she the one who gladly rejected friends before?

If anything, Mina should have been the one to throw a tantrum and to deny any relation to the “class prez Titan”. It was incomprehensible.

Besides, all Erika asked was to keep quiet about their gaming hobby. It wasn’t anything unreasonable, there were many people doing that these days.

... oh, I see. Mini is too honest and straightforward on this topic. She’s the Infamous Gamer Girl, after all.

For Erika, keeping secrets about gaming and leading a double life was second nature. She met many people online with the same problem, therefore it felt like a common issue.

But, Mina was very different from all these closet gamers. She didn’t care what others thought of her, she hated everybody. Hence, Erika’s request forced heavy baggage on Mina.

Until now, Erika hid her gamer side for her own sake. Only she alone had to bear the weight of her secret, and it never concerned anybody around her. However, after yesterday’s events... things changed.

Erika didn’t realize it until now, but she turned Mina into an accomplice for her underground life. Mina was asked to lead her daily life with lies and fakery.

I feel so ugly... I need to apologize to her.

Erika nodded to herself and returned to her classroom.