Choco-Rabbit Daily Log: Do We Level Up Outside the Game Too?!
Kinoshita Akane, twenty, has a problem: her ex-boyfriend dumped her with the words "you're too heavy," and the only place she's felt safe since is *Arcadia Chronicle*—specifically, her guild Chocolate Rabbit, where six players log in twice a week to raid, fish, farm, and never pressure each other. But when the guild announces its first real-life meetup at a strawberry farm in Aoba City, Akane has to do something terrifying: step outside the game.
Worse? The guild's resident high school pro game
Choco-Rabbit Daily Log: Do We Level Up Outside the Game Too?! - Welcome to the Strawberry Farm Offline Meetup! ~Trains and a Stirring in the Heart~
"Yamada's coming too."
Kinoshita Akane had probably reread that single line on her phone screen a dozen times by now.
A weekend in June. The wind pouring in through the train window smelled of green leaves and soil—nothing like the city. The train had left the urban center behind and was heading for Aoba City. Akane sat by the window in a white knit top, a denim skirt, and sneakers—a slightly more put-together outfit than usual.
Her shoulder-length black hair swayed in the breeze. The way the ends flipped up just a little was her trademark. Her big, expressive brown eyes were currently glued to the phone in her hands.
"...Yamada, huh."
Saying it out loud made her oddly self-conscious.
Kinoshita Akane, twenty years old. A perfectly ordinary college girl studying literature at Seiryou University in the city. Well—ordinary might be a stretch. After all, she was currently riding a train alone to meet up with her online gaming buddies.
The game was called *Arcadia Chronicle*. A classic sword-and-sorcery fantasy with plenty of laid-back content like cooking, farming, and fishing. About 1.2 million registered players in Japan. Akane was one of them, controlling a cat-eared girl avatar named "Akane." Her class was Paladin—the one who raises a shield and protects the party.
Her guild was called "Chocolate Rabbit." Choco-Rabbit, for short. Four years since its founding, six members. Their motto: "No pressure, no rushing—but we've got your back when it counts." Twice a week, Wednesday and Saturday nights from nine, they ran raids for about two hours, and otherwise chatted casually or did crafting together at their own pace.
Today was the Choco-Rabbit offline meetup. The venue: a strawberry farm in the suburbs of Aoba City, run by the sub-master, Kamoda.
"...An offline meetup, huh."
Akane set her phone on her lap and looked out the window. Rice paddies and vegetable fields alternated in a sleepy patchwork. In the distance, the green of the Aoba hills. About ninety minutes by train from the city center. Aoba City had a population of roughly 280,000—a regional town.
This was her first time here.
And yet, somehow, it felt nostalgic.
Probably because this was the town where the friends she'd talked to so many times in-game actually lived.
—No, to be precise, Akane had started the game for a different reason entirely.
It all began half a year ago. Akane had a boyfriend then. His name was Takuma. They'd met through a college club—bright, easygoing, fun to be around. Takuma was hooked on *Arcadia Chronicle*, and he was the one who'd invited her: "Let's play together."
Akane had barely touched games before. But she loved the idea of sharing a world with the person she liked, so she made an account just like he asked. Even choosing her character's appearance, she'd imagined what Takuma would like and made a cute girl with cat ears.
The game was more fun than she'd expected.
But around the time she was getting the hang of it, Takuma started acting strange. He'd log in but wouldn't play with the guild. Always off somewhere alone. When she reached out, she'd get curt replies—"Busy right now."
Eventually, she found out he'd gotten close with a woman he'd met in-game.
Akane confronted him.
"Hey. Who is that woman?"
"...Nobody. Just someone I know from the game."
"Liar. I saw the chat logs."
"...Ugh, god, this is such a pain."
Takuma sighed and said,
"Akane, you're too heavy. Let me have some freedom in a game, at least."
—Too heavy.
That one word lodged deep in her chest.
In the end, Takuma started dating that woman from the game, and Akane was dumped. For someone like her—the type who always put her boyfriend first—it felt like the world had flipped upside down.
She cried. She cried a lot.
She thought about quitting games altogether.
But deleting her account felt like losing, so she kept logging in. Not talking to anyone, just wandering the fields alone. Nights like that went on for days.
The one who picked her up was Chocolate Rabbit's guild master, Rurihime—Eita, as he was now.
"Akane, why don't you join our guild if you'd like?"
At first she refused.
"I'm a beginner. I'd just be a burden."
"It's fine, it's fine. We're a laid-back guild. Right?"
Who that "right?" was directed at, Akane couldn't tell at the time. But something about that easygoing atmosphere drew her in, and she joined Choco-Rabbit.
The guild members were all kind.
They patiently taught her the ropes when she fumbled with the controls. They laughed off her mistakes. Every time she logged in, someone would say, "Akane, good evening!"
She couldn't begin to say how much that saved her.
For someone who'd become afraid to trust people, Choco-Rabbit was like a roof she could shelter under from the rain.
—That's why she'd decided to come to the offline meetup.
"...Besides."
Akane looked at her phone screen again.
The guild chat log was displayed.
Yamada says he's coming to tomorrow's meetup too
Wait, Yamada too!?
Yeah. His shift opened up, apparently
Really! I'm looking forward to it!
...No, wait. Wasn't that enthusiasm a little too obvious?
Akane traced the chat log with her finger and let out a small sigh.
Yamada.
One of the guild members—a high school pro gamer. His in-game avatar had a noh mask and an afro, an indescribable look if there ever was one. But his skill was the real deal, and he was always reliable in guild raids.
The real-life Yamada Akito was so absurdly handsome it was impossible to reconcile with that avatar. She'd first learned that at an offline event two months ago.
She still remembered the shock of that day vividly.
—Wait, that noh-mask afro guy was *this* good-looking?
Tall, sharp-eyed, low voice.
But the moment he opened his mouth, it was nothing but "Not interested."
...And yet, when someone was carrying something heavy, he'd silently swoop in and take it for them.
That kind of thing should be illegal.
Akane pressed her forehead against the window to cool her burning cheeks.
"...Ugh, seriously."
Why did thinking about Yamada make her chest flutter like this?
The train lurched.
The announcement came on for the next station.
"Arriving shortly at Aoba Station."
Akane lifted her head.
—Here.
Aoba City.
She tucked her phone into her bag and stood.
All right. Let's go.
Past the ticket gate, the streets of Aoba City spread out before her. The station building, "Aoba Terrace," housed a supermarket, bookstore, and café—busy with families and students, it being the weekend.
Akane pulled out her phone again to check the meeting spot.
Kamoda was supposed to pick her up at the station by car.
"Let's see, out the gate, by the roundabout..."
As she looked around, a small pickup truck pulled up in front of her.
The driver's window rolled down.
"Kinoshita-san?"
"Ah, yes!"
"Great, I spotted you right away. I'm Kamoda. Thanks for coming all this way today."
The man who said this with a smile had sun-darkened skin and a solid build. He had a composure that belied his twenty-seven years, but his smile had a boyish warmth.
"Kamoda-san! Thank you so much for having me today!"
As Akane bowed, Kamoda waved a hand. "No need for that, no need."
"Come on, hop in. It's about twenty-five minutes to the farm."
"Yes!"
Akane climbed into the passenger seat. A faint, sweet strawberry scent drifted through the cab.
"Kamoda-san, you really are a strawberry farmer."
"Yep. Third generation. Right now it's me, my old man, and my grandma—the three of us."
"Wow! That's amazing!"
"Well, there's plenty of hard work, but I do it because I love it."
Kamoda talked cheerfully as he turned the wheel.
"Today, eat as much as you like. Our strawberries are sweet."
"Are you sure!?"
"Of course. That's what you came for, right?"
"Yay!"
Akane pumped her fist without thinking.
The truck left the city center and entered farmland. The wind through the window carried a stronger smell of soil and grass than before.
Soon, a farm with rows of greenhouses came into view.
"That's our farm. Strawberry Farm Kamoda."
"Wow... it's huge!"
Twelve greenhouses stood in neat rows. The sign at the direct-sales stand read "Kamoda's Strawberry Hut." A few cars with out-of-prefecture plates were parked in the lot.
"This place is popular, huh."
"Thankfully, yes. This time of year, a variety called 'Aoba Whip' is in season. Big berries, nice and sweet."
"Aoba Whip... even the name sounds delicious."
As Akane swallowed hard, Kamoda laughed.
"Ha, you won't be disappointed."
The truck rolled to the back of the farm and stopped in front of the main house.
"Here we are. Everyone should already be here."
Akane got out and looked around.
The June sun glittered off the greenhouse roofs. The air was warm, and the sweet scent of strawberries rode the breeze.
—This is the Choco-Rabbit meetup.
As Akane took a deep breath, a voice came from the direction of the greenhouses.
"Ah, Akane!"
She turned—and there he stood.
"Eita!"
The guild master, Eita, walked over waving. Tall, with gentle features, twenty-four years old. His family ran a long-established rice shop, "Komeda-ya," in Aoba City's central shopping district. Today he was in a loose T-shirt and jeans.
"Long trip, huh? Good work."
"Not at all! The scenery from the train was beautiful—it flew by."
"Glad to hear it. Come on, this way. Runa's here too."
Eita led her toward the greenhouse entrance.
The moment she opened the door, a rush of warm, humid air and an intense strawberry sweetness enveloped her.
"Whoa...!"
Before her stretched a sea of crimson strawberries.
Between the green leaves, glossy red fruit peeked out—row after row, all the way to the back of the greenhouse.
"Amazing! This is amazing! So many strawberries!"
As Akane gushed, a figure popped out from the far end of the greenhouse.
"...You actually came."
Sasaki Runa, nineteen. Eita's younger sister, a first-year in the early childhood education program at Aoba City Junior College.
Her thick, fluffy black hair was tied in twin tails, and her big round black eyes fixed squarely on Akane. She was small—barely five feet—and today she wore overalls for easy movement.
"Runa! It's been so long!"
As Akane waved, Runa turned her face away.
"...Meeting up in real life, not just in-game. You've got some nerve."
"Huh? Why?"
"I mean, you don't even know what kind of person I am. How can you just show up?"
"Come on, you're always helping me out in-game. Of course I'd want to meet you. Totally normal."
"...Hmph."
Runa swayed her twin tails and took a step back, putting distance between them.
But Akane didn't miss the way the corner of her mouth softened, just slightly.
Runa was competitive and always needling her. At first Akane had wondered, "Why is this person so prickly with me and only me?" But she was used to it now.
If anything, that was just how Runa kept her distance. For someone who struggled with people and never stood out much at school, a type like Akane—who barreled right through the gap—must have been hard to handle.
"All right, all right. We came all this way—let's pick some strawberries."
Eita stepped in and handed Akane a small basket.
"Here, Akane. Use this."
"Thank you!"
"Runa, you too."
"...I know."
Runa took her basket and glanced at Akane.
"...Hey."
"Hm?"
"Want to make it a contest?"
"A contest?"
"Who can pick more strawberries. Ten minutes. Loser does one thing the winner says."
Akane blinked.
"Wait, why all of a sudden?"
"Just answer. You in or not?"
Runa's black eyes stared up at her, challenging.
Akane smiled.
"Sure. Let's do it!"
"...Huh?"
Runa looked thrown off.
"I accept your challenge! I'll have you know, I'm competitive too!"
"...You really are an idiot."
"Anyone who calls someone an idiot is the idiot!"
"Okay, okay, you two. Just don't get hurt."
Eita smiled wryly and set a timer on his phone.
"All right, on your marks... go!"
Akane and Runa took off at the same time.
"I am not losing!"
"Th
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