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?! - Runa Has Arrived! ~Clumsy Encouragement and Yamada-kun's Top-Secret Investigation~
The smartphone screen glowed in her damp palm.
Akane sat huddled in the corner of her dim apartment, knees drawn to her chest. The curtains were still shut tight. Outside the window, only the hum of the AC unit droned on. The July air clung to the back of her neck and wouldn't let go.
On the screen, a familiar icon. Arcadia Chronicle. A sword-and-sorcery online game. Nine hundred eighty yen a month. The place where Akane had once laughed with her friends.
She reached out a finger. Touched the icon. Just barely touched it. The pad of her thumb stopped on the glass.
*"I'm taking Yamada-kun for myself, okay?"*
Washida's voice replayed deep in her ears. That triumphant smile. In front of a crowd of onlookers, all Akane could do was bite her lip.
She pulled her thumb away from the screen. Set the phone on the floor. The screen quietly went dark. In the black glass, her own outline floated faintly.
During lecture, the professor's voice broke off somewhere far away. Her pen tip spun in circles over the notebook. The spiraling lines had, at some point, been tracing the same circle over and over.
The student in the next seat glanced at her notebook. Akane set down her pen and looked out the window. In the bike lot, a single bicycle had fallen over—though there wasn't a breath of wind.
At the convenience store register, she miscounted the change.
"...Um, your change is too much."
A young male customer held out the coins with a troubled look.
" Huh—ah, s-sorry!"
She re-rang the register. Her fingers trembled, and a fifty-yen coin hit the floor. The sound of it rolling threaded through the store's background music. She crouched to pick it up. When she stood, the blood drained from her head in a rush.
"Akane-chan, take a little break."
The manager poked his head out from the back. A man in his forties with kind eyes.
" I-I'm fine! I can do this properly!"
"No, you're white as a sheet. You've been nothing but mistakes yesterday and the day before. If something's going on, I'll listen."
" ...I'm really okay. Just a little short on sleep."
She made a smile. The muscles in her cheeks twitched, independent of her will. The manager opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then silently retreated to the back.
After her shift, she went home to the apartment.
She opened the door. An empty room. In the entryway, a single sock from yesterday lay dropped on the floor. Akane crouched down. Her knees hit the floor.
(I'm home.)
(...Though nobody's here.)
She kicked off her shoes and stepped up into the room. Collapsed onto the bed. The stain on the ceiling was in the same spot as always. She buried her face in the pillow. No tears came. Her eyes were dry, and every time she blinked, her lids scraped.
*Ding-dong.*
Akane sat up.
(...Who?)
She shuffled to the door. Peered through the peephole. The view warped into a circle.
"...Huh?"
Standing there was Sasaki Runa. Her fluffy black hair hung loose over her shoulders today. Her big, round black eyes stared fixedly at the door.
She opened it.
" Runa-chan...? Why are you here...?"
The moment Runa saw Akane's face, her brows knitted hard.
" ...You look awful."
" Huh—ah, yeah... just a little short on sleep..."
" That's not a face you fix with sleep! You look like a zombie!"
Runa marched straight into Akane's apartment. She deftly untied her sneaker laces one-handed and kicked them off.
" I'm coming in."
She walked to the middle of the room and stopped. Her eyes swept across the mess on the floor, edge to edge, like a tongue.
"...How do you even live in a room this messy?"
" Ugh... I just couldn't bring myself to clean..."
" That doesn't mean this! Are you trying to turn this into a garbage dump?!"
Runa set the convenience store bag she'd been carrying on the desk. The bottom of the bag shoved aside an empty plastic bottle with a clatter.
" ...Here. Eat this."
Out of the bag came a pastry and a sports drink. The smell of chocolate drifted softly into the room's air.
" Huh...? This is for me?"
" Who else is here?!"
She thrust the pastry at Akane's chest. The edge of the wrapper bumped against Akane's fingers.
" Your color's terrible. Are you even eating properly?"
" ...I haven't had much appetite..."
" That's why I'm telling you to eat! I went out of my way to buy this!"
Akane timidly took the pastry. The wrapper crinkled in her palm.
" ...Thank you, Runa-chan."
" I-it's not like I did it for you! I was just hungry!"
Runa turned sharply away. The tips of her ears were faintly red. Akane opened the wrapper. One bite. The taste of chocolate spread through her mouth. Two bites, three, she stuffed her cheeks.
" ...It's good."
" Of course it is. I picked it out."
The corner of Runa's mouth softened, just a little, then tightened again. Akane drank the sports drink. The cold liquid seeped down her throat. She let out a breath.
" ...So, Runa-chan, why are you here? Did your brother ask you to come?"
Runa whipped around to face her.
" No! It's not like my brother asked me! I came here on my own, really!"
" Huh, then why...?"
" ...Because you haven't logged into the game at all."
Her voice suddenly went small. Runa stared hard at her own fingertips.
" ...I know you haven't logged in since you lost that match. I saw it on the guild member list—your last login's been frozen on that day ever since."
" ...Runa-chan, were you worried about me?"
" N-no! It's not like I was worried! I was just pissed off that you lost like that and then ran away!"
She turned away again. This time, the red reached the nape of her neck.
(Runa-chan came all this way because she was worried about me.)
Something warm spread slowly through Akane's chest.
" ...Thank you, Runa-chan."
" ...I keep telling you, that's not it!"
Runa yanked her own pastry out of the bag, roughly. The plastic tore with a rip. Then she plopped down heavily beside Akane. Her back thudded against the wall.
" ...You. Look at this."
A smartphone was thrust in front of Akane's eyes. The screen glowed white.
" ...What is this?"
The screen showed an online game's message board.
" That woman... that Washida person."
Akane's throat moved on its own. The sound of her swallowing seemed terribly loud.
" She's been pulling the same crap in this game too."
" The same thing...?"
" She worms her way into a guild, wrecks all the relationships, and leaves. Three guilds she joined have disbanded. Multiple players have filed complaints about her."
She scrolled the screen. Washida's handle appeared again and again throughout the posts.
" ...Is this really Washida-san?"
" No doubt about it. The writing style in the in-game posts, the avatar screenshots—everything matches. She was operating under a different name in this game, but it's the same person underneath."
Screenshots flashed one after another before Akane's eyes. Posts stirring up conflict within guilds. Messages engineered to isolate specific members. Akane leaned her face close to the screen. Her breath hit the glass and fogged it white.
" ...I had no idea."
" Of course you didn't. She's really good at that kind of thing. She does it so no one around her notices."
Akane stared at Runa's face. Runa didn't look up from the screen. Her bangs cast a shadow over her eyes.
" ...Runa-chan, why did you look into all this?"
Runa's finger stopped on the phone screen.
" ...Because you were so down, it made me kind of angry."
" Angry?"
" You're depressed because you lost that match, right? But that match was messed up from the start! That woman decided it on her own, and just because you lost, you lose the right to tell Yamada-kun how you feel—that's just wrong!"
Runa's voice hit the walls and bounced back. Akane hung her head. Her fingers laced together on her knees.
" ...But I lost. So it can't be helped."
" It can be helped! Are you really okay with this?! Are you okay with that woman taking Yamada-kun?!"
" ...Taking him—I'm not anything to Yamada-kun anyway..."
" Hah?! Don't you like Yamada-kun?!"
Her heart slammed hard behind her breastbone. Her throat tightened.
(L-like...?)
(Do I... like Yamada-kun?)
(I don't know. But I know I hate this.)
Akane couldn't say anything. Runa heaved a big sigh. The breath brushed faintly against Akane's arm.
" ...Listen, Akane. At first, I didn't like you."
Akane lifted her head. Runa's eyes were aimed straight at her. No escape.
" When you joined the guild, I thought you were a try-hard—just a game player, but you came barging into real life too. You showed up to offline meetups without a care, and you got all friendly with my brother right away. It pissed me off."
Each word stung. But Akane didn't look away.
" But, you know—watching you have fun in the game, it pissed me off, but I had to admit it. You're terrible at games, but you always gave it everything, and you cared so much about everyone in the guild, and when you're around, the whole mood just... brightens up."
Runa's voice began to tremble, little by little. Her fingertips curled into small fists on her knees.
" So I won't allow you to make a face like that! That miserable look doesn't suit you! Just laugh like an idiot, the way you always do!"
She shouted, her face bright red. Her voice rattled the air in the room.
Something hot welled up behind Akane's eyes. Water blurred the edges of her vision.
(Runa-chan acknowledged me.)
(I'm happy.)
Tears ran down her cheeks. They wouldn't stop. They dripped from her chin to her neck.
" ...Runa-chan, thank you... thank you..."
Before she knew it, Akane had thrown her arms around Runa. Her arms wrapped around Runa's back. The slender shoulders fit perfectly in her embrace.
" H-hey, stop, what are you doing?! Let go!"
Runa tried to push Akane's shoulders away. But Akane didn't let go. Runa's shirt grew damp with tears.
" ...Thank you... I wasn't alone after all..."
" Of course you're not! Everyone in the guild is here for you! I'm here for you!"
The pushing force suddenly drained away. Runa's hand came gently around Akane's back.
" ...Stop crying already. You're making me cry too."
Runa's voice trembled softly by her ear. Akane felt Runa's warmth through her back. The faint scent of shampoo reached the back of her nose.
They stayed like that for a while. Runa let it happen. Eventually, when Akane loosened her arms, Runa pulled away.
" ...Now my clothes are all wet."
" S-sorry..."
Akane wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Runa stood up. She brushed off the hem of her skirt once.
" ...I'm going home."
" Huh, already?"
" I've done what I came to do."
Runa headed for the door. Akane stood and followed.
" ...Akane, my brother and I are both looking into that woman. You just wash your face properly and get some sleep."
" Eita-san is looking into it too?"
" Of course he is. He's the guild master. You think he'd do nothing while you're this down?"
Her chest grew warm again.
(Everyone's moving for my sake.)
Runa put on her shoes and opened the door. The hallway light cut a long, thin strip into the room.
" ...See you."
" ...Yeah. Really, thank you, Runa-chan."
Runa turned her back and walked away. Her fluffy black hair swayed in the hallway breeze. Akane closed the door.
Silence returned to the room. But it was different from the heavy silence of before. The air felt a little lighter.
Akane went to the sink and turned the faucet. Cold water hit her palms. She washed her face. Droplets dripped from her chin. Her face in the mirror. Her eyes were still swollen. But a little color had returned to her cheeks.
Back in the room, she started picking up the clothes scattered on the floor. T-shirts, socks, towels. She tossed them into the washing machine. Empty plastic bottles went into a garbage bag. The bag crinkled. She wiped down the desk. The rag grew dark.
The room grew a little cleaner, bit by bit.
She sat on the bed and picked up her phon
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