Headphone Actor by JIN Read Free Book Online

chant under his breath, “It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay ….”
    “Wait, hold on, it’s already starting! People are gonna come soon, so, umm … Stand outside the classroom and be the guide! If there’s people that look interested, make sure you explain everything properly and let them in!! Understand!?”
    “Ah, ahh, yeah, yeah! …. G-got it … It’s okay, it’s okay ….”
    With that, Haruka stood up quickly and stumbled towards the door.
    And just as he was doing so, he crashed into the door once, and left the classroom while going, “Awawa ….”
     
    “…. Is that guy really gonna be okay?”
    Background music for the Culture Festival had started playing from the same speakers as earlier, announcing the start of the festival.
    For the booth’s effect, I turned off the speakers, as well as the lights, and waited for the first challenger that Haruka would bring in.
    With the lights off, the room was bathed in the glow from the display screen and the pale light of the fluorescent paint.
    Of the two chairs set up in front of the long table, I sat down in the one on the right side, and spaced out staring at the monitor that continued to display the title screen.
    In the screen where “Headphone Actor” was displayed, behind the title logo was a gray cityscape, and because it was set in the evening, the gaps between the groups of buildings showed a dark, violet sky.
    “Anyway, this really is a game with some bad taste ….. Sensei and Haruka just went ahead and made it on their own whims, but if it’s a girl that plays this, she’ll probably get freaked out.”
    But if it was Haruka, he probably wouldn’t pay attention to that at all, and if there was a girl that seemed interested, he’d just cheerfully lead her inside like I’d told him to.
    —No, this could potentially be very bad. What would we do if the one lead inside happened to be pretty faint-hearted?
    The moment they opened the door, what would jump out at them would the extremely brutal shooting game set up in the dismal Science Preparation Room.
    And the challenger they were up against would be me, gloomy and with unpleasant eyes, standing in this dark room …. No, I should stop thinking about myself. Honestly, I’d get depressed, and that was no improvement. I’d end up crying.
    But even excluding me as the factor, as expected, it really was a game that would be a little rough for girls or kids.
    I’d have to take caution and make sure that Haruka explained that part clearly.
    The moment I stood up from the chair with a sinking feeling, the door opened.
    Suddenly seeing light for the first time in several minutes, my eyes were momentarily blinded, and all I could see of the customer was their silhouette. I panicked a little, but judging by their height, it seemed to be a male adult.
    It was rude to stay silent, so I started with the explanation that I had thought up.
    “Ah, w-welcome! Our class is doing a shooting game! If you’re able to win in a challenge against me, then this fabulous prize—“
    “I was wondering who I’d be up against, and turns out it’s just a girl. Even though that guy standing in front of the door looked easy enough to beat.”
    As I was giving a cheerful and cute explanation with my best smile, the man smacked it down with those words.
    For a moment, I was frozen without really understanding what had happened exactly due to the abruptness of his words, but I gradually came to realize the aggressive attitude that he was giving off.
    “Eh …. Ah, um …..”
    Due to this being the worst first contact and also because I wasn’t accustomed to socializing in my first place, my heart started throbbing at once, and my hands naturally started shaking. The speech that I had already thought up went completely blank, and even when I thought I’d still be able to talk, my mouth could only let out vague noises.
    “Sorry to say, but it’s your unlucky day, girly. We came because it was our friend’s Culture