2: The best games make reconnaissance fun

2

The best games make reconnaissance fun

“That’s a good sign.”

It was the next day, and we were in Sewing Room #2. I was telling Hinami how I’d been able to mess with Takei fairly easily after school at the game center.

“Yeah?”

She nodded, looking fresh as a daisy. I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating that she goes to morning track practice before our meetings. She didn’t look tired, and she didn’t smell sweaty—in fact, she smelled good. What planet was she from?

“You were able to mess with him and keep up a conversation without making a conscious effort, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve probably realized this yourself, but this just proves my point. You couldn’t tease him even if you wanted to before, but after a little practice, you can do it now without any conscious effort. It’s virtually the definition of skill attainment.”

I nodded, savoring her words.

“…Huh. I guess you’re right.”

I’d sensed it myself: My skills were naturally coming out during real-life battles.

“How is the observation going? Have you made any discoveries?”

“Well, now that you mention it…”

I told her what I’d noticed about the mood-manipulation war when we were deciding who would be the captains of the sports tournament, and how Erika Konno had reaffirmed the hierarchy with the plain equals bad norm and her “good at setting up” comment. Also, how Nakamura had used a similar structure when he told me to “go outside once in a while.”

“…So I figured that was how normies did things.”

For some reason, Hinami seemed happy when her eyes met mine.

“Nice one, nanashi.”

“Huh?”

Smiling with satisfaction, she nodded a couple of times.

“Mood is a pretty abstract concept, but you’ve been able to analyze it to some extent because I’ve taught you the definition. And now that you’ve learned the rules, you can overcome your handicap as a nerd and deduce the hidden structure behind mood all on your own… Yeah, those are nanashi-level accomplishments.”

“Really…?”

I wasn’t sure why, but she’d just given me one hell of a compliment. I did get stuck on the phrase handicap as a nerd , but it was the truth, so I decided not to let it get to me. Poking at that would just lead to unnecessary pain.

“Listen. That ability is the privilege of people who are able to observe the rules from the outside and avoid getting sucked in.”

“From the outside?”

“Yes. We’ve been through a lot, but I think you’re essentially…”

She whispered the words on this side . Before I could react, though, she hustled the conversation on to the next topic. She really did run the show.

“Your analysis is generally correct. The norms state that being boring or quiet is bad, so people establish their position by showing off. And by labeling other people as the opposite, they lower those people’s standing and establish a hierarchy. It happens in every group; it’s just how things are done.”

She was exposing the ugly side of daily life in the classroom, but all in a flat, logical tone. I nodded and replied:

“My analysis didn’t go quite that far, but one reason I became a loner to start with was because I hated that custom so much… But I’m planning to jump into the ring now,” I said, whipping up my morale. I’ve come to believe that if I want to win this game and enjoy it, I’ve got to fight according to the rules of the mood. I’ll decide as I go if climbing in there is worthwhile. But until I find something that allows me to destroy or ignore the rules of that ring, I have to follow them. At least, if this is a good game.

“Right. If you’re a true gamer, you’ll engage with the rules instead of run from them.”

Hinami’s words made sense.

“Yep. The rules decide the conditions, and you pick up your controller and hack your way through.”

Hinami nodded happily.

“Exactly.”

Only a pair of gamers would be able to see eye to eye on this so quickly.

“…So what’s today’s assignment?” I asked, changing the subject.

Hinami looked at me suspiciously. “Did you suddenly decide to ask about assignments yourself from now on?”

“Huh?”

Once she mentioned it, I realized I’d done the same thing the day before, too. “Oh, no, not on purpose, but…I guess I’m just feeling motivated.”

Back when all this began, I never would have asked for assignments so eagerly. She hadn’t forced me into this, of course, and I’d even taken the initiative to some extent, but a part of me was still passive. Or maybe I should say I’d gotten my butt kicked a little. And grabbed. Literally.

Now I could see more clearly, and my motivation to complete my daily assignments was definitely higher. When I asked myself why, the answer was immediately obvious.

“I think…it’s because of what happened between us a little while back.”

“Huh…? That gave you motivation?” she asked skeptically.

“It’s like…I really saw the value of working at this. Like I realized what my ultimate goal was or something. I mean, it’s like getting absorbed into a game I like and having a good time.”

“You’re talking about the whole ‘what you really want’ thing again, aren’t you?” Hinami drew her eyebrows together suspiciously.

“Yeah. Everything clicks for me now, so there’s nothing holding me back.”

Hinami looked at me with an emotionless, oddly direct gaze.

“I really don’t get you,” she said softly.

“…You don’t?”

The reason I got a little flustered was because she seemed less unconvinced and more uncomprehending. When I couldn’t explain, though, she gave up and went back to her usual self.

“Your assignment for today—for the foreseeable future—is to do some special training on mood.”

“Oh, okay.”

I tried to shift my mind into assignment mode while keeping up with what Hinami was saying. So an assignment about mood. Thinking about the future, it seemed like a crucial topic.

“You probably understand that if you want to be a normie, you need to have more rights than other people and more of an ability to speak.”

“Yeah. You were talking about something similar when we went to get a present for Nakamura, right?”

Hinami nodded.

“I told you then that another important issue is responsibility. Basically, your rights only extend as far as you can take responsibility. This is an important foundation for moving the group. And you have to level up until you can take more responsibility for more things. It’s not something you can do overnight.”

“Huh.”

Made sense. If you want the right to influence other people’s actions, you’ve got to take responsibility. But that’s a hard thing to do.

“But there’s a way to manipulate the group on the spot and increase your rights instead of using the rights you already have. What’s needed for that is—”

“The ability to manipulate the mood,” I interrupted. Hinami glared at me. Then she sighed.

“Hexactly,” she mumbled. Why so grumpy? “Groups move based on the mood. That’s why in reality, even people who don’t have the right to influence the group can seize control when they have the ability to manipulate the mood. And if you do that on a regular basis, you expand your rights and slowly inch up the hierarchy.”

“…Gotcha.”

If you want to gain the right to manipulate the group—if you want to approach boss level—it’s important to develop those abilities. Just like she told me before.

“That’s why, starting today, your training will focus on developing the ability to manipulate the mood.”

“Okay! Bring it on.”

I put up my fists like a boxer, and Hinami held up a finger next to her face.

“As for what that is exactly… Well, the sports tournament is coming up, right?”

“Um, yeah…”

“Your assignment starting today is…”

She paused for a few seconds.

“…is to get Erika Konno’s group motivated to participate in the tournament.”

I knew what she was saying grammatically, but I couldn’t actually parse it into a concrete image.

“…Um, well, you’re right that they don’t seem to care much…,” I stammered.

“They sure don’t. And you probably don’t have any ideas on how to motivate them, right?”

“Nope,” I said, shaking my head. She’d identified my worries perfectly.

“That’s fine. Because that’s the essence of this assignment.”

“Huh?”

Once again, I wasn’t following.

“Okay. For all your assignments so far, I’ve told you clearly what to do, such as ‘talk to a girl’ or ‘mess with Nakamura,’ right?”

“True…”

“The goal then was to improve your basic abilities, so completing your previous assignments would develop your skills. I set it up that way.”

“Uh-huh.”

Up till now, I didn’t have to think much. And since I’d naturally improve as long as I did what she said, that was fine.

“But this time, I want you to build your ability to manipulate the mood, which requires more complex, flexible thinking. And you need hands-on training to develop those thinking skills.”

“…Which is why you’re telling me to motivate Erika Konno’s group to participate in the sports tournament.”

Hinami nodded before replying:

“You know that motivating them is going to require complex trial and error, right? That’s your training.”

“…Okay.”

I nodded, satisfied with her explanation. We were shifting from assignments that required action over thought to ones that focused more on application, which demanded careful deliberation. And this would improve my understanding of mood.

“So considering what strategies to employ is part of my training?”

Hinami nodded again.

“Yes, but…you’re already practicing one skill needed for this assignment,” she said pompously.

“I am?”

“Oh, you haven’t figured it out?”

Seeing my confusion, she raised her eyebrows in amusement.

“Observation,” she said, a sadistic grin playing on her lips. The assignment from the previous day was linking up with today’s conversation.

“…Oh. That’s what you’re talking about,” I said with a smirk. Looks like my previous assignment of observing the group would be playing an important role. Which meant Hinami had today’s assignment in mind when she gave me the one from the previous day? Damn, she’s efficient.

“Right. And starting today, I want you to prepare by observing and analyzing the situation.”

“You’ve planned this out very carefully…”

Now that she’d laid it all out, though, it was simple. In Atafami terms, I’d practiced combos and other refined manipulation techniques and gotten decent at them. Now it was time for a test battle or two to help me get better at those techniques in the field.

“But observation alone won’t always be enough, so in those situations, you can act as you see fit… Actually, I think this might be your most gamelike assignment so far.”

“Oh yeah?”

For some reason, Hinami gave me a meaningful smile.

“Mm-hmm. Anyway, there’s no rush to complete this assignment, and I’d like you to spend some time on it. You can start by spending the next two weeks or so quietly observing.”

“Okay…got it.”

Now that I understood the assignment, I tried to think about what I’d need to do in order to complete it. Nothing came to mind. I gripped my head.

“…My assignments are getting harder again.”

Hinami was definitely enjoying my distress. What a jerk.

* * *

I left Sewing Room #2 and headed to class. First period hadn’t started yet. As I looked around, I noticed something was different from usual. I walked over to Takei and Mizusawa, who were talking by the window.

“Nakamura’s not here yet, huh?”

He was always here by this time.

“Nope,” Mizusawa said, turning toward me. “I think he’s out today.”

“Huh.”

Could be. Fall was coming, which was cold season.

“I bet you anything he’s skipping!” Takei said cheerfully.

“Really?” I asked.

“Remember what we told you about Yoshiko yesterday? That’s probably why.”

“Huh,” I said, a little confused. He was skipping school because he argued with his mom? Gutsy move. Or maybe just childish.

“This is Shuji we’re talking about, so I’m sure he’ll come back when he feels like it.”

“R-really?”

Based on their casual tones, this was par for the course. I’d kind of already realized he lived by his own rules. Oddly enough, I’d never noticed him missing class before, but that just showed how unobservant I’d been in general. This would be obvious if I’d paid the least bit of attention.

Another normie in our class approached us. He was a tall guy with short black hair who looked like an athlete from the way he moved. Uh-oh, this was an anomaly. Um, I’m fairly sure his name is Tachibana. Not sure what club he’s in, but I’m guessing basketball.

“Shuji’s out today?”

Mizusawa made a silly face.

“Yeah. I’m betting he got in a fight with his mom,” Mizusawa replied in a jokey way.

“Again?”

Tachibana laughed. Apparently, Yoshiko was famous.

Huh, interesting. Add just one unfamiliar person to the group, and everything gets ten times more stressful. On the other hand, this was a good chance for me to get some EXP, especially since I was already used to hanging out with Nakamura, Mizusawa, and Takei. Okay, then. Time for me to lean into this conversation. Better start by introducing a topic. I made an effort to sound casual despite my nerves.

“Uh, does this happen a lot? I mean, Nakamura fighting with his mom?”

Tachibana looked at me and nodded.

“Yeah. You didn’t know that, Tomoyama-kun?”

“It’s Tomozaki, not Tomoyama…”

“Oh, really? Ha-ha, sorry!”

My momentum was gone after a single shot, while Mizusawa and Takei started cracking up.

I made it through another couple minutes of awkward conversation with the normie Tachibana before the bell for first period rang. I was beat; I needed to give myself some kind of reward for this trial. Atafami marathon when I get home!

Since this was still the second day of the semester, every period was full of busywork like going over summer assignments and doing little quizzes. The real work would start after the weekend, next Monday.

By the end of third period, I was struggling with my assignment.

I was supposed to start taking steps today toward motivating Erika Konno’s group to participate in the sports tournament. But how the hell was I supposed to do that?

I mulled it over constantly during class and breaks, but no answer appeared. According to Hinami, observation was essential, but I had no idea what exactly to observe, or how.

Surely the one and only Aoi Hinami would never give me an impossible assignment.

I had the skills I needed for this. So what am I missing? Information? And then I remembered something: Hinami had said this was my most gamelike assignment so far.

…Hmm. What do you do in a game when you need info? Oh!

This assignment was an RPG !

When the bell rang at the end of third period, I turned to the seat next to me.

“…Izumi?”

“What’s up?”

I waited a beat before continuing. “I wanted to ask you about Erika Konno.”

Yup. When you don’t know how to advance in an RPG quest, there’s only one thing to do: collect information in a town. If Erika Konno was the dungeon boss I had to take down, that meant I should check out the town for intel on her weaknesses and how to defeat her. So the first person I should talk to was one of her close associates. Wow, this suddenly felt like a game. Hah, it’s kinda fun now.

“Huh? About Erika?”

Izumi measured me up with her glance. I guess it made sense; I had no discernible connection to Erika Konno, and now I was asking this. Okay, so life is a little harder than other games. The villagers in an RPG would even randomly volunteer information like Speaking of which, I’ve never heard of a sand dragon attack on a rainy day… And then it’s perfectly obvious the dragon’s weakness is water.

“No, it’s just…she seems pretty meh about the tournament coming up.”

“What are you talking about?” Izumi asked, but she looked amused. I had to choose my questions better. This was reality; there was no list to pick from. “I mean, of course she is. She thinks it’s lame to care about this stuff.”

“Ha-ha…I could tell.”

I laughed cynically. I already knew all this.

“What do you think would make her care?”

“Hmm, I dunno,” Izumi said, thinking for a minute. “That’s a tough one.”

“Yeah, I figured…”

I sighed. Lots of people in this village were suffering at the hands of the boss, so it was unlikely they knew what her weaknesses were. If even her close associate didn’t know, this was going to be hard.

Nevertheless, Erika Konno wasn’t the kind of boss I could take down with ordinary attacks at my level. If I didn’t find some kind of exploit, there was no way I could beat her.

“…But why are you so interested anyway? Where did this come from?”

“Uh, um…”

Figures she would ask—but I had a good excuse ready and waiting.

“…Well, Hirabayashi-san is gonna be captain, right?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah.” Izumi tilted her head quizzically. Even that ordinary gesture was cute coming from her—I guess her normie power could account for that. It was like adding an elemental charge to an ordinary attack. Light elemental, to be specific, so it hit me extra hard.

“I mean, this isn’t really her thing anyway, and I bet it’s even harder when Erika Konno is dragging her feet. Especially if you’re a girl.”

And especially, especially if you’re a loner without many friends. Believe me, I know.

“Oh…yeah,” Izumi said, nodding. Maybe she’d experienced what I was talking about. “The job is gonna be a huge headache if Erika’s not into it.”

She grimaced, maybe because she was imagining the situation. This didn’t bode well.

“Y-yeah…”

Something in her reaction told me that the world of girls was a lot harsher than I’d imagined.

“So anyway, I wanted to do something to help Hirabayashi-san… Plus, I want to have a good time without worrying about, like, class politics,” I said, wrapping up my prepared excuse. It wasn’t a lie, though. I really did want to make life a little easier for Hirabayashi-san, the victim of the most recent mood attack. Plus, I honestly wanted to have fun, considering I was enjoying school more overall lately. I mean, as much fun as I can have when I suck at sports.

As I looked Izumi in the eye and waited for her answer, I noticed that her round eyes were starting to glitter with childlike excitement. Huh?

“Oh man, I get you!!”

“Yeah?”

I wasn’t sure what to make of her hyperenthusiastic agreement. What was up? Lowering her voice a little so no one would hear us, but still in just as excited (and intense) a tone, she continued.

“I love the sports tournament and the culture festival, and I want them to be as much fun as possible. Otherwise, I feel like I missed out… If nothing else, it’s just more fun to have fun, y’know?”

“Yeah, true,” I said. Her passion was contagious.

“But it sucks when you don’t have everyone in class on board, right? Even for me, and I’m close with Erika. But for someone like Hirabayashi-san…it’s gotta be even harder.”

“…Right.”

It would be hard to really cut loose, knowing what she was going through.

“So I’ve been wondering if there was any chance Erika would actually take this seriously.”

“Oh, you have?”

If Izumi wanted to enjoy the tournament, but the queen was acting like enthusiastic people were uncool, she’d have a harder time enjoying it. Izumi hung out with Hinami’s group sometimes, but her main clique was Konno’s. And then there was Hirabayashi-san, at the bottom of the hierarchy. Yeah, groups were complicated.

“Yeah, but Erika wasn’t into it, and I didn’t think I’d be able to ignore her. I’d just about given up…”

That was a surprise to hear.

“You couldn’t ignore her? Seems like you could just hang out with Hinami or someone at the tournament…”

Izumi shook her head with a very sour expression.

“No way! She’d be super pissed if I ditched her to go have fun with someone else… Girl politics are the worst!”

She hunched her shoulders and curled in on herself.

“W-wow.” I nodded. I couldn’t fully imagine how she was feeling, but I had a good idea.

“So I was gonna give up, like I said, but…you’re amazing!”

“I am?”

Suddenly, she was praising me. I had no idea why. What did I do?

“I mean, I could see someone trying to have fun behind her back, or covering their tracks with some excuse, but who would ever think of trying to get her into it?”

“Oh…okay.”

It made sense now that she said it. People didn’t usually attack head-on like this. It probably felt refreshing to someone who wasn’t used to it—me included. I’d simply inherited the strategy of my master, Hinami, as part of an assignment. Izumi wasn’t really praising me , because I hadn’t actually done anything special.

“But it’s gonna be hard. What would make her excited?”

She sank into thought. After a few seconds, she frowned and got a distant look in her eyes. I think her brain might have been overheating.

“Uh, um… Is there anything that Konno normally cares about? That would be useful to know.” I tossed her a life preserver, and she brightened right up.

“Well, she puts a lot of effort into her appearance. I know some good clothing stores, so she’s always asking me to go shopping with her. She tries on tons of outfits and asks me how they look and stuff.”

“Huh…”

I hadn’t expected to discover this side of Erika Konno. I’d figured she would act like any clothes she wore were gorgeous. The veil of secrecy concealing the dragon called Erika Konno was slowly lifting to reveal data that would form the foundation of my strategy.

“Also, she’s super picky about makeup. She tries out tons of different brands and studies the techniques and stuff… Don’t tell anyone, but I buy the Wet n Wild–type stuff a lot of the time. If Erika knew, she’d make fun of me for sure…”

“Wet n Wild…?”

Izumi looked confused by my question for a second.

“…Oh, I just mean the cheap brands!”

Ah, okay. I just got some experience in being the idiot. Or not. I’m so ignorant about normie culture, I stumble over the unimportant stuff, preventing the conversation from moving forward. One of the downsides of being a bottom-tier character, I guess.

“Sorry, go on…”

“Anyway…that’s about it. She’s just really into anything related to beauty!”

Izumi nodded a few times.

“I see. Beauty, huh? That’s gonna be hard to connect to a sports tournament…”

“True,” Izumi said, smiling wryly.

“But if we start with that…”

I started to put this new information into the context of the rules I already knew, but this was tough.

After a minute or two, Izumi made a solemn suggestion.

“How about offering some Chanel lipstick to whoever wins?”

“I…I think that’s a little too on the nose…”

It was like a tacky direct-marketing proposal. Normies really have big imaginations…or maybe that’s just Izumi.

* * *

The next day was Saturday. I didn’t have school, but I did have work. It was my first day at the karaoke place since I’d finished training.

I stood in front of the bathroom sink at home, styling my hair—which I’d been getting cut regularly at the place Hinami had told me about—using the techniques Mizusawa had taught me. Wearing the clothes Hinami had taught me how to choose, I got ready for work. Yup, when it came to my appearance, I just might be able to fool people.

As I was doing a final check in front of the mirror, someone suddenly flew up behind me and shouted “Hey!” which caused me to jump.

“Shit!” I said, turning around. “…Oh, it’s you?”

“Uh, yeah, obviously,” my sister said, pouting grumpily.

“What?”

She looked me up and down.

“You look…put together. What, got a date?”

I wanted to tell her it was none of her business, but since I wasn’t actually going on a date, I decided not to. But I was happy for the compliment.

“No, work.”

“No way!” she shouted, mouth gaping. “You got a job?!”

“Yeah.”

She was acting like this was the end of the world.

“My weird brother has a job?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m capable of getting a job on my own.”

Okay, that might have been a slight overstatement. Hinami was the one who’d told me to get a job, and this felt like a big deal to me. Even now I was super nervous, but I was trying not to show it. I’m a big brother; we’re stubborn.

“Oh, oooookaaaaaaay .”

She stared at me. What? What was with her?

“It’s a karaoke place in Omiya. I can get you in for half price if you ever wanna come,” I said, raising my eyebrows. Damn. Why am I bluffing now? I’m a big brother; it’s just how we are.

“I don’t.”

Shot down. She doesn’t take me seriously, does she?

“Okay…,” I mumbled.

“What happened with that girl from before?” she asked, changing her tone.

“G-g-g-girl from before?”

Stuttering like a bottom-tier broken record, I feigned ignorance.

“The one who asked you on LINE to go buy a book together.”

“You read that…?!”

“Better than letting you hole up in your room forever and miss your chance to answer, right?”

“Uh…,” I said, easily giving in to her. After all, she’d saved my butt by reading that message from Kikuchi-san and getting me to do something about it. If she hadn’t said all that stuff to me after Hinami and I argued, I probably would have missed my chance to get together with Kikuchi-san. This big brother is still weak.

“So did you go out after that or what? Any girl who would ask you must be pretty special, so you’d better be good to her.”

“Sh-shut up. It’s none of your business,” I bluffed, even though I secretly agreed with her.

I’d seen Mizusawa’s mask and argued with Hinami, and I’d made up my mind not to confess any love I didn’t actually feel. I would stay true to my own feelings when I interacted with people. After the day Kikuchi-san and I went to the bookstore together, I hadn’t talked much with her. I felt it would be insincere of me to ask her out. But even if I didn’t want to say I liked her as part of an assignment, and even though I still didn’t know if I did like her that way, it didn’t change the fact that she was an important person in my life. I was deeply indebted to her for teaching me something incredibly valuable.

In which case, yeah, my sister was right.

I’d learned to use my skills of expression to convey my genuine feelings. If someone was important to me, then it was necessary to take steps to express that sentiment and make sure I didn’t lose that person. In this case, my sister lit a fire under my butt and reminded me of something I should have known.

“None of my business, huh?” she asked. Her tone was teasing, but at the same time, she was staring into my eyes. I felt like my soul was being examined.

“No…my little sister wins this round. I offer you my most sincere and humble thanks.”

“I’ll take it.”

I jokingly overacted my thank-you, but in my mind, I thanked her a little more sincerely. Thanks, Sis.

* * *

“Good morning!”

It was a little before noon. Following the bewildering custom of saying good morning even when it wasn’t exactly morning anymore, I walked into the karaoke place.

“Hey, Tomozaki. Training’s over now, so I’m counting on you, okay?”

“Yes, sir!”

The manager, who I’d seen a bunch of times during training, was putting the pressure on. I took the key from him and headed for the changing room. I quickly threw on my uniform and returned to the front desk.

“Go scan your veins. I showed you how, right?”

Scan your veins probably sounds super weird, but actually, it’s just an electronic time card that uses the patterns of the veins in your finger to identify employees. People at work are always using special lingo like wipedown and upsell and tapster and no guests , which sound like normal words at first. It’s really confusing. By the way, those terms apparently mean cleaning a room , offering food or drinks , the person who makes drinks , and no customers in the building . The more you know, I guess.

“Yes, you showed me!”

“Okay, then go scan in and come back here. Today, I’ll start teaching you how to man the front desk.”

“Will do!”

With a spring in my step, I got to work learning my job.

Several hours had passed.

“Morrrrning.”

The extremely lethargic greeting came from my coworker, Narita-san—Tsugumi Narita. She was the first person I met when I came for my interview. She’s a year younger than me and goes to a different school, and all I remember about her is that she’s super laid-back about everything.

“Hey, Tomozaki-kun. Been a while.”

As a bottom-tier character, I’m incredibly grateful any time someone I haven’t seen in a while remembers my name, but it weirds people out, so I tend to hide it. So I pretended to be calm.

“Morning, Narita-san.”

I tried to emulate Mizusawa in my response and channel that mature aura. Which reminds me, Mizusawa called Narita-san “Gumi ,” but I couldn’t quite go that far in my impersonation.

“Hardly anyone here calls me Narita-san. Feel free to call me Gumi, okay?”

It was like she’d read my mind, but that’s just how she was. Last time I saw her, she told me not to speak so politely to her, robbing me of the time I needed as a low-level weakling to mentally prepare myself for that degree of familiarity. I wish she’d stop bullying us weaklings.

But I’m a man, after all. And I’m a gamer who made up his mind to beat the game of life. I’ll show the world I can walk the path of strife. The old me would have compromised by calling her Gumi-chan instead and congratulated myself for moving past Narita-san . Well, I’ll take it a step further!

“Uh, okay. Looking forward to working together, Gumi,” I said, playing it as cool as I could. How do you like that? Don’t I sound like a great Mizusawa knockoff?

“Me too!”

Blissfully unaware of the storm of self-examination and determination in my heart, Narita-san—I mean, Gumi—easily accepted my use of her nickname. Yeah, normies were good at this kind of thing. I’d made a special effort just now, but it would be tough to ditch the -san or -chan every time. I felt more uncomfortable than I’d expected calling her just Gumi. From now on, it’ll be Gumi-chan.

* * *

Several more hours passed.

“Drinks are ready. Can you take them out, Tomozaki-san?”

“Be right there!”

At first, it didn’t bother me.

“Can you extend the time for Room Fourteen?”

“Okay!”

But little by little, it started getting to me.

“Customer! Tomozaki-san, do you know how to sign people in?”

“Um, yes, I learned it today.”

“Great, then can you do it? If you have any questions, ask the boss!”

“Will do!”

This first-year, Gumi-chan…

“Have you checked the bathrooms?”

“No.”

“Then since you’re free now, can you do it?”

…didn’t lift a finger.

“Also, the dishes are piling up, so go ahead and wash them when you get a chance.”

“…Um…”

“Yes, what is it?”

Thinking about how Mizusawa would tease someone in a situation like this, I’d come up with my complaint in advance.

“Do your job.”

I delivered my line in a slightly theatrical tone. D-did that come out okay?

“…You got me, huh?”

“At least pretend to be sorry.”

Her response was so quick, it was almost refreshing. I had to smile, but I still tried to make my own comeback as stern as possible. O-okay, she isn’t being weird about it, which must mean I didn’t screw up. She didn’t laugh, so it wasn’t a complete success, but practice makes perfect. She reminded me of Takei, actually. It felt okay to talk to her more harshly than I would with other people, which made interacting with her slightly easier.

“Well, I do try to work as little as possible,” she said nonchalantly.

“…Sheesh.”

I couldn’t help sighing. No way was I ready for an opponent of this caliber.

“What? What’s wrong, Tomozaki-san? Do you have to use the bathroom? Go whenever you need to; that’s what I do. Also, don’t tell anyone, but when the boss isn’t around, I help myself to the drink bar in the kitch—”

“No, I’m fine.”

I just couldn’t keep up; she was too lazy for me.

An hour later, I was in one of the karaoke rooms.

“Whew…”

I put my phone in my pocket and took a deep breath. It was five o’clock, and I was exhausted from my first day of posttraining work. The boss had told me to take a break, so I’d slipped into this room about thirty minutes earlier and collapsed onto the sofa to recharge. My exhaustion was about 20 percent physical and 80 percent mental. I had an hour for break. Work would start again in half an hour.

Having a job was surprisingly tiring. There wasn’t all that much to do—I probably had more downtime than busy time—but interacting with strangers as an employee was tough for a bottom-tier character. The biggest source of stress was easily Gumi-chan’s behavior.

As I was chugging down my free drink and trying to relax, the door suddenly opened.

“Nice work out there, Tomozaki-san.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, you too.”

Recovering from my shock, I managed a reply. Gumi-chan waltzed in, plopped down next to me on the sofa, and melted into the cushions.

“Wh-what?”

“I just got off. Was gettin’ kinda tired, so I wanted to sit for a little before I got changed,” she said listlessly, resting her full weight, including her head, against the back of the sofa and the wall. She looked like a snake. I didn’t know a person could let go of their energy that fully.

“Oh…okay.”

I’d witnessed her whining about exhaustion multiple times today when literally all she had been doing was standing. It’s rare to find someone with less energy than me, the scrawny, indoor beanpole. Or maybe the issue was mental, not physical?

“Wait…you’re done already?” I asked, suddenly realizing she’d arrived at work after me.

“Yeah. I usually don’t work more than three hours. I’m a rare character!”

She sat up slightly and fluttered her hands back and forth.

“What’s that about? Is it because you get tired?” I asked, smiling cynically.

“Exactly!” she said, smiling and sticking her pointer finger in the air. I couldn’t figure out what was so good about that, so I decided to ask her, in as teasing a tone as possible.

“Why do you sound so happy?”

“I mean, aren’t you tired? I don’t wanna bust my butt to make money.”

“Yes, I get that, but…”

Once again, I wasn’t sure if I’d succeeded or failed, but I supposed it was fine because what mattered was effort.

“Right? My creed in life is to avoid work whenever I can! Thanks in advance for your help!”

“Oh, uh…huh.”

What was that supposed to mean, “thanks in advance”? More important, her approach was the polar opposite of my current attempt to beat the game of life, which gave me pause. Avoiding work whenever you can, huh?

“What? You don’t agree?”

Gumi-chan looked at me with her round, innocently questioning, but somehow still listless eyes, waiting for my answer. It was a tiny pause, but the way she caught it was another sign of her normie status.

Since she asked, I might as well tell her what I was thinking.

“Well, in my opinion, life is more fun when you put your whole heart into it and move forward…,” I said a little shyly and hesitantly.

Gumi-chan looked surprised. “Huh. So you’re one of those people.”

“Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?”

She crossed her arms. “You know! The people who are super into the chorus festival or the culture festival or the sports festival.”

“…Ah.”

Now I got her point. Up till last year, I wasn’t that type at all, but now I absolutely was. I was even trying to get the girls in my class to be more excited about the tournament.

“You may be right,” I said.

“Plus, I can tell you made a real effort to learn the job here. I’m proud of you.”

“What are you, my mom?”

“I’m proud of you”? Really?

“Like I said, I just don’t want to bust my butt over that sort of thing. I want to relax, y’know, not let people burn me out. Soooo—thanks in advance!”

That seemed to be her catchphrase, delivered at a mysteriously pleasant tempo. She offered so many opportunities for comebacks that I’d definitely be able to get some practice in. I found my joking tone again and said:

“You’re a hopeless case, aren’t you?”

“Guilty as charged.”

“Ha-ha.”

Once again, I was unsure if I’d succeeded or failed. Was her key trait the ability to absorb all teasing? Or maybe my teasing was just ineffective? In either case, this was tough. She wasn’t simple like Takei.

“The culture festival is coming up at my school. Everyone in my class is so excited about it—it’s exhausting.”

“That so?”

I realized something. Here was a girl who had no interest in class events… This could be the perfect opportunity to gather some intel. I thought about what I should ask her. Okay, time for round two of RPG reconnaissance!

“You don’t have any interest in participating?” I asked, searching for the right words to draw out the answer I wanted. Wish I could just pick from a list.

“Nope.”

“Yeah, but…isn’t there anything that would make you want to join in?”

I was collecting information in the village to take down a unique superboss—that is, to get Erika Konno excited about the tournament. From what I could tell after talking to Gumi-chan, she had attributes similar to those of a boss. On the surface, she and Erika Konno were completely different, but they sure knew how not to give a damn. This was like asking a lizardman how to take down a dragon.

“Wait, why are you asking me? Are you trying to make me try harder? Ugh, just don’t,” Gumi-chan said, for some reason covering her chest with her arms. Come on, you don’t have to act like I’m harassing you! I just asked a normal question.

“Oh, no, it’s not that…”

“Then what is it?”

She glared at me sullenly. What was her deal?

“Um…,” I floundered. Ultimately, I decided to go with the truth. “We’ve got this sports thing coming up at my school, and some of the girls are really dragging their feet.”

“…Oh. Gotcha.”

Gumi-chan removed her arms from her chest, apparently satisfied with my explanation. What the hell? Did she equate someone suggesting she actually do something with sexual harassment?

“I thought you might have some ideas on how to get people interested.”

She looked at me with slight disgust. “I know your type.”

“Huh?”

She scrunched up her brows.

“Working isn’t enough for you. You try to drag everyone else along with you, too. You’re dangerous. Like an alien or something.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little much?”

She was coming on strong, but I managed a comeback.

“Nope. I can’t even imagine thinking like you, Tomozaki-san. It’s bizarre. But whatever. If you need to know what I think, it’s no skin off my nose.”

“R-really?”

“Yep. I’m probably a total alien to you, too, so I can teach you the ways of my planet. Think of it as a cultural exchange,” she said, winking at me.

“Um, okay…”

This was getting weird. Is this RPG set in outer space?

“Anyway, I’ll be your expert on apathy,” she said, grinning. Weird. Who’s that proud to be the go-to source for apathy?

* * *

“Ohhh, that’s really annoying.”

I’d just given Gumi-chan a quick rundown of Erika Konno’s personality, the power structure of our class, and the tournament captain Hirabayashi-san. She shook her head, rubbing her temples.

“Yeah.”

She looked me in the eye. “I bet Erika-san had it out for this girl Hirabayashi-san.”

“Oh…”

I’d suspected the same thing. There had to be a reason she went straight to Hirabayashi-san after Izumi turned down her command to be captain. I had no idea what that reason might be, though.

“Yeah, you were screwed the minute that girl became captain. Your queen is not gonna want to be a part of this.”

“Queen…” The word fit her perfectly.

“Plus, from what you’ve told me, she seems to live on Planet Apathy, too.”

“Planet Apathy… Then I must live on Planet Effort?”

“Ah-ha-ha, something like that,” Gumi-chan said with a carefree chuckle. “Anyway, you’re gonna need a big shock to the system to get her on board.”

“That’s what I was afraid of…” I sank into thought.

“Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you.” Gumi- chan laughed. Why was she suddenly so happy about my suffering?

“But what do you mean by ‘a shock to the system’?”

She thought for a moment. “Cost performance is key. That’s true for me, too.”

“Um, what do you mean?”

“Okay, here’s an example. You know how I feel about work, but I have this job, right? Why do you think that is?”

Tough question. There must be something she wanted.

“Is it related to cost performance?”

“Yep! Very good!”

She gave me a round of applause. Oh boy.

“So…what’s your point?”

“Compared with other jobs, the pay here isn’t bad, and it’s pretty fun, right? And the schedule is super flexible.”

“Oh, really?”

All I’d done was follow Hinami’s instructions to apply here, so I had no idea how this job compared with other places, but given that Mizusawa worked here, it must not be terrible. He had good instincts.

“The point is, you can’t do nothing all the time. You have to put in a little effort here and there. Like, you need money in order to take it easy most of the time. And when inhabitants of Planet Apathy do have to work, we choose the option that requires the least effort and gives the best results.”

“Ah… That’s what you mean by cost performance.”

“Exactly.”

So that explained why Gumi-chan was working at a fun, well-paying job with a flexible schedule to earn the money she needed.

“And you think Erika Konno is similar? Because she doesn’t think it’s worth the effort?”

“Yes! If you want to motivate the queen, you need to make it worth her while.”

She accompanied this original conclusion with an unclouded smile.

“Yeah…”

“But my guess is your queen’s apathy isn’t nearly as extreme as mine, so it’s a worthwhile endeavor.”

“You think so?”

Gumi-chan nodded in general agreement. “That’s my guess anyway. I mean, she acts all bossy in class, right? That means she has a lot of emotional energy. Being bossy and snobby is exhausting. If you really didn’t want to waste energy, you wouldn’t bother.”

“Huh… Makes sense.”

Her argument was persuasive. If I imagined her in Erika Konno’s place, I could easily picture her complaining and giving up the throne in no time.

“I’m sure she wants a lot of things, unlike me. I don’t have a selfish bone in my body. My only desire is to not do anything,” she said, flopping over onto the table. She was practically a liquid.

“Hmm…”

“Look, people make an effort because they want things. I’m a negative example—I don’t have anything I want, so I don’t put forth any effort.”

Still flopped on the table, she turned her face toward me, smiling listlessly as she delivered her oddly convincing argument. Maybe she really was an authority on apathy.

“But what does our queen desire?” I asked.

Gumi-chan sighed loudly. “Oh, Tomozaki-san, listen to yourself.”

“Huh?”

She looked me in the eye solemnly. “You think I’d know what other people want? Nope, dude. Can’t relate. Obviously.”

She was being strangely forceful about this, but her words were completely unhelpful.

“Oh, okay…”

“Welp, time for me to take off. I hope I was helpful!”

“Yeah, uh-huh.”

I was powerless to stop her, and I just waved as she slipped out the door. But okay. The end of our conversation was unsatisfying, but hearing her unique insights had been valuable. Payoff for effort—that was the key. Geez. She just does whatever she wants…

* * *

It was just after six. I’d finished work and was standing in front of the Bean Tree sculpture at Omiya Station, waiting for someone. The station was technically indoors, but the entrances and exits were all wide-open, so it felt like the place couldn’t decide whether to be air-conditioned or not. Saitama in general seemed to have trouble deciding what it wanted to be, though, so I guess that made sense. Maybe the train company had designed the place this way on purpose.

People were streaming through the rows of ticket gates in an unending current. I watched them absently as I waited, breathing deeply to calm myself down. Okay, feeling better. I gave myself a little pep talk, and when I took another look around, I registered a mystical, saintly presence approaching from the east exit.

Yes. Kikuchi-san had arrived.

“Oh…!”

Noticing me, she trotted over and gave me a modest smile.

I’d been thinking about a lot of things—a lot about Kikuchi-san in particular, partly because of what my sister had said to me. It had been a wild couple of weeks—the stuff with Hinami, and about assignments, and about what I really wanted—but that didn’t change the fact that I was indebted to Kikuchi-san. She’d taught me so much, and I didn’t want to lose her.

When I thought about it, I realized we both had jobs near Omiya Station. If we both got off work at the same time, we could meet fairly casually. I’d sent her a LINE message during the first half of my break that afternoon, and she’d written back immediately that she got off an hour after I did.

Well then, just say it! I told myself, and I’d summoned my courage and asked her out. And now here we were. And yes, I did report all this to Hinami.

“Um…hi, Tomozaki-kun.”

“Oh, um, hi, Kikuchi-san.”

She was dressed a little more casually than usual, and around her was a feather mantle protecting her from the evils of the human world—I mean, no, a lightweight black cardigan that she wore to keep off the sun. She wore a short-sleeved, white button-down with a collar, as well as a skirt the deep-green color of leaves from a billion-year-old tree. A single scrap of that fabric could cure all disease. Well, probably.

“Thank you…for inviting me to meet up,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself and looking away from me. My heart quivered at her solemn words, which echoed like gospel.

“Um, uh-huh,” I said, suddenly extremely aware of my own heartbeat. “…Are you hungry?”

“Oh, yes, I am, I think.”

“Then…”

I racked my brain for a good place to go, figuring I should take the lead. Um, what’s near Omiya Station…? I started to panic. Shit. My mind was a blank. Knowing Kikuchi-san, even if I suggested Tenya, she’d probably say something like Oh, tempura is so delicious , but what would that say about me as a man? The phantom Hinami-san in my mind was eyeing me with disdain. “You’re kidding, right? Only a real loser would take a girl to Tenya on a date.” But this isn’t a date!!

Why didn’t I look something up beforehand? I’d decided to stop wearing a mask of confidence or whatever, but right now, I think it would have been better to have a restaurant in mind. There was the place Hinami and I had gone for lunch that time, but I vaguely remember glancing at the dinner menu and thinking the prices were insanely high, so that was out. What about the café Kikuchi-san and I had gone to after buying books? Could you go to the same place twice in a row? What’s your verdict, Hinami-san? I decided to save that as my backup.

A random diner or something would be okay, too, if I knew of one, but there weren’t many around the station. Or maybe there were, but a high school loner like me wouldn’t know where to find them. Was there one in that building that had a Loft in it when I was in junior high? Loft was neat. I liked the Sakuraya by the east exit, too. Okay, snap out of it! I was freaking out.

Hoping I might be able to recover with a map app or something, I opened my phone and noticed a LINE message from Hinami. There was a URL attached. Hmm? I clicked on it, and it led to the website of an affordable café a few minutes’ walk from Omiya Station’s east exit.

“Damn…”

“…? What’s the matter?”

“Nothing…”

Unable to explain my surprise to Kikuchi-san, who was looking at me with confusion, I led her to the café Hinami had suggested. This was getting close to telepathy.

* * *

We arrived at the café, and the interior turned out to be a quirky blend of nostalgia and attention-grabbing Western-style decor. It had a big potted plant sitting next to an antique-looking, red sofa. The cluster of stone sculptures of nude women, the colorful bottles on the table by the register, and the replica Mona Lisa on the wall were trademarks of typical Western showiness, but they lent a certain retro feel at the same time. It wasn’t so much a Western place as an old-fashioned Japanese café decorated to vaguely resemble one.

“This café has such…unusual energy.”

“…Yeah.”

Kikuchi-san herself had way more unusual energy than this café, but I knew better than to say it aloud and make her think I was a creep.

“The atmosphere is wonderful,” she said with a smile that made me feel like I’d been touched by the breath of an archangel.

“Um, yeah…it is.”

I felt a little shy and out of place here, but I silently thanked Hinami for her choice. You saved my butt…

We sat down across from each other at a table and stared at our menus.

“They sure have a lot to choose from.”

“Wow, you’re right…”

Kikuchi-san flipped through the menu excitedly, her face relaxing into a smile.

“I think I’ll get…the Napolitan pasta,” I said.

“I’m going to have the omurice .”

I remembered that she picked the same thing the last time we ate out.

“You really like omurice , don’t you?”

Kikuchi-san giggled happily at my slightly teasing tone, which I could manage smoothly now thanks to repeated practice. The move was like my uppercut now.

“I didn’t even notice!”

“Oh, so you’re on autopilot until you’ve ordered?”

“Pretty much!”

We shared a laugh. As always, the time I spent with Kikuchi- san was quiet and natural, but warm. Enjoying this comfortable mood, I called the waiter over and ordered for both of us. I was trying hard to take the lead. Once that was over, I drank some water and took a breath. Kikuchi-san was gazing at me with an affectionate smile more beautiful than Mona Lisa’ s on the wall.

“Thank you so much for coming with me to buy that book last time.”

“Oh, no, thank you…for everything.”

“…It was nothing.”

“…Yeah.”

The atmosphere was peaceful and solemn, like the early morning over a silent, frozen fairy lake deep in the woods where all the animals were hibernating.

“It’s so quiet in here,” I said, glancing around at the decor. “I like how calm it is.”

Kikuchi-san smiled. “You’ve been working hard, haven’t you, Tomozaki-kun?”

“Wait, what?” I asked. This conversation had taken a turn.

“You have so much energy these days,” she said gently, her fingers laced together on top of the table. She was right.

Two days had passed since the semester started. I’d been talking with Nakamura’s group, whispering with Izumi, and messing around with Mimimi and Tama-chan. Life was happening all around me. I guess it was obvious to outside observers, too. All the more so because Kikuchi-san sat diagonally behind me in class. It was also possible she was blessed with the ancient gift of clairvoyance.

“Yeah, you could be right. Or maybe I’m just louder.” I smiled awkwardly.

“You think so?” she asked simply, looking at me with her startlingly honest eyes.

I looked inside myself once again. There was a part of me that had a tendency to run into self-deprecation and self-flagellation…but I couldn’t do that. I had to be honest.

“Lately…I’ve been enjoying it,” I said. Kikuchi-san smiled happily.

“That’s wonderful.”

She always stripped my heart bare, but it felt warm and comfortable. Once again, I realized how at home I felt with her.

Our food arrived, and we chatted about nothing at all as we ate. After a while, I decided to ask Kikuchi-san something I’d been wondering about.

“Um…”

“Yes, what is it?” she asked calmly, after taking her time to chew and swallow the bite of food in her mouth. Very like her. If she’d asked me something midbite, I’d gulp it down in a panic and start stuttering.

“Um, you know Erika Konno in our class?”

“Konno-san?”

I nodded. “What do you make of her?”

I still hadn’t collected enough information on Erika Konno. Izumi had told me what interested her, and Gumi-chan had told me about her desires—which meant she would act based on cost performance or opportunities. But I needed more to complete my assignment.

That was why I wanted to get Kikuchi-san’s input. Asking as many people as possible for information about a boss was an ironclad rule of RPGs. Kikuchi-san saw straight into people’s hearts, and besides, I had a feeling that fairies living deep in the woods knew a lot about how to take down dragons.

“That’s a hard question to answer…”

“Oh yeah, sorry, um…” Yeah, that was too abstract. I thought about how to reword it. “What I meant was, when do you think she decides to care about something? Like right now, we’re getting close to the sports tournament, but she seems to have zero interest in taking part, right? So I was wondering when she would be interested.”

Kikuchi-san nodded with understanding.

“Oh, so you want to know what motivates her.”

“Yeah… Yeah, that’s what I mean.”

Motives—that was a good way to put it. Which reminded me, Kikuchi-san had asked me before what motivated Hinami to work so hard, saying she was a writer and wanted to understand.

“Well…hmm. This may not sound very kind, but…”

“Yeah?”

Kikuchi-san rested her cheek on her hand and looked down slightly, like she was unsure how to phrase this. After a few seconds, she peered up at me. Her enchanting eyes, like two lakes dappled with magical, sparkling flower petals, melted my thoughts completely away. Finally, she parted her delicate lips.

“She doesn’t want people to look down on her—I think that’s a big motive for her.”

She was being careful and unassertive, but she’d cut right to the core of Erika Konna. She doesn’t want people to look down on her. Harsh, but not impossible to understand.

“She doesn’t, huh?”

“Yes…”

Maybe because Kikuchi-san realized she’d said something kind of mean, she was slumped more dejectedly in her seat than usual. Right now, she was as adorable as a squirrel.

“I can see that…” I was convinced.

For instance, you could say that by creating and enforcing the boring is bad rule, Erika Konno was protecting herself from being at the bottom of the hierarchy. Izumi had said her interest in makeup and clothes was a sign that she cared what other people thought about her, and that fit, too. Even her massive attitude and the way she pressured others was a part of it. In that light, all her actions appeared to come from a single source: not wanting to be looked down on. I just had one question.

“So…why would that make her act this way about the sports tournament?”

The tournament created a clear ranking between classes. If she was so concerned with how people saw her, wouldn’t it be more natural for her to try to reach the top?

Kikuchi-san hesitated again.

“It must be…because if she acts like the tournament is already stupid, it won’t matter if we win or lose… People still won’t look down on her.”

“…Oh.”

Once again, she cut straight to the heart of things. I was convinced. If you made fun of the tournament, no one would laugh at you when you didn’t win. After all, trying was uncool to begin with. I was following her logic now.

Given how quickly Kikuchi-san had responded, I realized she must watch our classmates on a regular basis, her careful analysis allowing her to sum them up perfectly. She was doing the group observation assignment Hinami had given me. Huh. I was learning a lot by asking so many questions. This really was like an RPG.

“But Konno-san does care about her friends, and I think she can be more honest than she realizes, so I don’t think she’s a completely horrible person…”

“Yeah.”

Kikuchi-san seemed to feel guilty for what she’d said, but the way she was frantically trying to walk it back was a little funny to me.

Anyway, I kept thinking about her original point.

“So she heads off the problem by acting like it’s stupid… Interesting.”

“Yes…”

I was connecting the dots with Gumi-chan’s comments about desire and the cost performance of effort. Erika Konno wanted to avoid effort whenever possible. At the same time, she didn’t want people to look down on her. But as long as she belonged to our class, she had to be at the top in controlling the mood or else she risked being looked down on. That must be why she put so much effort into her appearance and actions.

Because she had to.

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t get what she wanted. On the other hand, the sports tournament was another story. True, putting in real effort and winning a top spot was one way to fulfill her desire. But most likely, the cost performance of that option was poor .

That was because she could simply create a norm that said caring about the games is uncool instead and gain a superior position that way. The cost performance of that option was much better. And that’s why she didn’t make an effort. From that perspective, I could put the principles behind Erika Konno’s actions into simple words.

She was fulfilling her desire to save face by using her effort efficiently.

That formula included some speculation on my part, but I suspected it wasn’t far off the mark. I’d taken information from Izumi, Gumi-chan, and Kikuchi-san, and assembled it the best I could to put Erika Konno’s principles for action into words.

“…Okay, got it,” I muttered, softly enough so only I could hear.

I hadn’t been able to figure it out alone, but by gathering some missing information, I’d arrived at a conclusion of sorts. Before, I didn’t even know what I should be aiming for. Now a goal had come into view.

If Erika Konno had manipulated the mood so that she could avoid putting any effort into the sports tournament—then all I had to do was somehow alter that mood. In other words, in order to take down the dragon, Erika Konno…

…I needed an item to make Erika Konno believe she’d lose face if our class didn’t win the sports tournament.

By striking at the boss’s weakness, I could provide the key to completing my assignment. Of course, I had no idea where to find that item, or whether there was some magic spell or weapon that could produce the same results. But if I knew the conditions I needed to fulfill, my general direction would become clear.

I’d collected information about this distinctive, normally unbeatable boss and finally discovered her weakness. Now to search for the key item that would get at that weakness!

Yeah, now that I was putting in some real effort, it was becoming clear. This game can be really fun sometimes.

Suddenly returning to Earth from my own little world, I met Kikuchi-san’s eyes with my own, and she was smiling at me like she was watching over a child.

“Tomozaki-kun, you seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“Uh…I—I do?”

Probably because I was thinking about games. Kikuchi-san laughed teasingly, but the sound was also genuinely happy.

“It’s very you.”

“Um, uh-huh…”

I was getting shy again—she always made me feel completely accepted.

* * *

After that, Kikuchi-san and I chatted calmly and quietly about Andi books, what we did over summer vacation, the kids in our class, and our plans after high school. It felt very natural to me, not talking about anything we didn’t want to talk about and not having to wear masks in front of each other. When it was about time for us to leave, Kikuchi-san let something slip.

“I…should try harder, too.”

“Huh? How so?” I asked. She smiled teasingly.

“Not that much time has passed since the day we went to buy books together, but…you’ve already changed so much.”

Her smile looked warmer than usual, and her reply seemed more…girlish, somehow.

“H-have I really?”

Around two weeks had passed since that day. And from her perspective, I seemed different?

She nodded slowly.

“I think…you’re facing the future more straightforwardly than you were before.”

I thought back to what had happened with Hinami. Maybe Kikuchi-san was right—I had changed.

“…Huh.”

Kikuchi-san’s words touched something deep in my heart. I understood what she meant, and I realized she had the power to see through people. Quietly, she placed her supple, white, delicate palm on her chest.

“So…I’m going to try to do the same. A little at a time,” she declared.

“…Yeah.”

I didn’t know where she wanted to go, or how she planned to get there. But if she’d made up her mind to start on a journey, then I wanted to be there to help her.