Chapter 7: Kaguya's Private Message
Several minutes passed before the four group members finally came back to their senses. It had taken that long for them to fully digest what Ryū had told them.
After all, it was the kind of revelation that sounded just as impossible as the Dimensional Chat Group itself.
Equally absurd. Equally unbelievable.
But would Ryū, the Admin, lie to them about something like this?
Whether it was Edward Newgate, Kaguya Shinomiya, Yukari Yakumo, or the consciousness of Earth itself — not a single one of them believed he would deceive them. Not now. Not about this.
Even though none of them even knew the Admin's real name.
Which meant everything he'd said was true.
They were all characters from novels, anime, films, and legends in someone else's world?
Kaguya-sama:
"So… that's how it is? It's hard to believe, but I suppose the explanation isn't impossible to accept. It's just… incredibly shocking."
Kaguya-sama:
"If the Admin has watched an anime about me, then doesn't that mean… you can 'see' my future?"
RawrSoFierce:
"More or less, yeah. As long as your timeline hasn't progressed past the point where the story begins, then I'd know roughly what happens."
Edward Newgate:
"Gurararara! As expected of the Admin!"
The Little Wandering Planet:
"I wonder if I'm an anime character or a novel character? Oh! I'm not just some throwaway extra, am I?"
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden:
"'Throwaway extra' doesn't exactly qualify as a supporting character, you know~"
The Little Wandering Planet:
"That hurts…"
Lying on her luxuriously soft bed, Kaguya Shinomiya's delicate features showed a flicker of shock — but it quickly melted into deep, burning curiosity.
The Admin knowing her future was certainly startling.
But what Kaguya was far more interested in was what that future actually contained.
And hadn't the Admin also called her a "heroine"?
Wait. A… heroine?
Kaguya Shinomiya — who had only recently enrolled at Shūchi'in Academy and been appointed Vice President of the Student Council — suddenly found herself deep in thought. If she remembered correctly, a heroine in a story usually came with a… male lead.
"N-No, that's impossible. There's no way there's a male lead. Absolutely not."
She hurriedly shoved the thought out of her mind.
"Besides, that's just what happens in the anime version. I, Kaguya Shinomiya, am a real, living person. There's no way my future would follow some predetermined script. And now that I've joined the Dimensional Chat Group, my destiny is in my own hands."
Letting out a soft breath, Kaguya managed to convince herself.
Or at least, she tried to.
Because once her thoughts settled, that restless curiosity came surging right back. Unable to resist, she opened the chat group's direct message function and pinged the Admin.
Kaguya-sama:
"Admin-dono, are you there?"
RawrSoFierce:
"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?"
No job. No Ninja Academy classes. No missions to run. Ryū was, naturally, available in the Dimensional Chat Group around the clock.
By Konoha standards, he was a rare specimen — an honest-to-god shut-in.
His parents from his current life had passed away, leaving behind a sizable inheritance. As long as he didn't blow it recklessly, that money alone could carry him through the rest of his days.
Kaguya-sama:
"Admin-dono, um… I was wondering if you could tell me a little about my future? Since you've watched the anime about me…"
Kaguya-sama:
"Of course, I wouldn't ask you to do it for free! If there's anything you need, just let me know — I can have it purchased for you."
Kaguya's heart was beating faster than she would have liked. She'd chatted with the Admin in the group before, sure — but this was a private, one-on-one conversation. She was the kind of person who kept her distance from boys as a rule, and boys, intimidated by her icy demeanor and her family's fearsome reputation, kept their distance from her in return.
Now she was suddenly having a private conversation with a boy she'd known for less than a day.
Naturally, she was nervous.
As for why Kaguya was so sure the Admin was male?
Call it a girl's intuition.
Over in the shinobi world, Ryū read Kaguya's private messages and let out a small, wry smile. "Of course. The moment you reveal something like that, someone's bound to come asking. She wants to know her future, huh?"
Telling Kaguya Shinomiya about her future wasn't necessarily off the table.
The problem was that Ryū was worried about how she'd take it. She was still a teenager, after all.
And the anime about her life?
It was a rom-com.
A full-blown, weapons-grade, romantic comedy — the kind that had viewers choking on secondhand embarrassment and sugar overdoses in equal measure.
Rather than answering directly, Ryū asked her a question first.
RawrSoFierce:
"Have you enrolled at Shūchi'in Academy yet? How long have you been there?"
Kaguya-sama:
"Mm… yes, I have. I've been at Shūchi'in for about two months now. A few days ago the principal asked me to serve as Vice President of the Student Council, and I accepted. So right now I'm the Student Council VP."
RawrSoFierce:
"So you're a first-year in high school, then?"
RawrSoFierce:
"Got it. That means the story hasn't started yet."
Kaguya-sama:
"The story? You mean my future?"
RawrSoFierce:
"Yeah, basically. Give me a sec — I need a minute to figure out how to explain this."
Kaguya-sama:
"Okay."
After sending that last message, Kaguya flopped face-first into her enormous, cloud-soft pillow.
Having a private conversation with a boy she'd barely known for half a day — for someone as socially guarded as Kaguya Shinomiya, this was a monumental challenge.
A faint blush dusted her cheeks. She rolled over onto her back and stared blankly up at the familiar ceiling, whispering to no one in particular.
"Other than Fujiwara-san and Hayasaka… the Admin and the other group members might be the people I've talked to the most since I was old enough to remember."
She thought about herself in real life — the girl her classmates called the "Ice Princess." Then she thought about how freely she chatted in the Dimensional Chat Group, always finding something to say, always joining the conversation without hesitation.
Even Kaguya herself didn't quite understand the disconnect.
There was something strangely liberating about it. Especially for someone who'd barely ever used the internet, let alone a group chat.
If she'd had more experience with online communities and messaging apps, she probably wouldn't be overthinking it this much.
Just as Kaguya's mind was wandering into increasingly tangled territory, the notification chime for a private message echoed through her thoughts.
She dove back into the Dimensional Chat Group and opened the DM.
What greeted her was a wall of text — hundreds of words, possibly over a thousand — dense enough to make anyone's eyes spin.
Thankfully, Ryū had broken it into paragraphs. And Kaguya Shinomiya was, after all, an academic prodigy.
So reading it wasn't particularly difficult for her.